A Cuban State Security agent approached Abel Alejandro Andrés Navarro, a member of the youth collective Fuera de la Caja Cuba, during a graduation event he had been invited to, and warned him in an intimidating tone that "we should be careful on social media," as the group reported this Thursday on Facebook.
The agent who appeared at the graduation is the same one who interrogated Abel during the summons on July 2, when State Security detained him and his sister Amanda Beatriz at the PNR Unit of the 10 de Octubre municipality, in Lawton, Havana, far exceeding the legal limit of two hours.
What was supposed to be a moment of rest for the young activist turned into a new episode of pressure, this time in a context unrelated to any political situation.
The collective took the opportunity to clarify that the reduction of their activity on social media is not due to fear: "If we haven't posted videos recently, it's not because we've been intimidated. It is primarily due to a very delicate health situation that Mauro's father is going through."
At the same time, the group warned that the encounter at the graduation is not an isolated incident: "We have received strange calls, intimidating messages... everything is part of a systematic harassment campaign," they stated in their publication.
Despite everything, Fuera de la Caja Cuba concluded its statement with a declaration that summarizes its position: “Living in this country makes it very difficult for us, but let it be clear: our conviction remains stronger than ever.”
Fuera de la Caja Cuba is made up of Karel Daniel Hernández Bosques, Amanda Beatriz Andrés Navarro, Abel Alejandro Andrés Navarro, and Mauro Reigos Pérez, all young people around twenty years old from the Cerro municipality in Havana, who use social media to challenge the regime and expose the reality of the country.
For that reason, the collective has been the target of relentless repression: disabling of phones by ETECSA, hacking of WhatsApp accounts, intimidating visits to the homes of their families, and direct threats to their parents.
The operation on July 2 was described by activists as a deliberate attempt to prevent the group from attending the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States at the residence of the chief of the diplomatic mission Mike Hammer.
The U.S. Embassy in Havana publicly condemned the repression and Hammer raised concerns on social media about the threats from State Security against Cubans attending diplomatic events.
The young people also recounted the conditions of the interrogation: the agents pointed to the everyday phrase "until when" as an incitement to commit a crime, and Abel was held in what his sister described as "a kind of dungeon".
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