The Cuban activist Anna Bensi issued a direct call this Friday to her fellow citizens to abandon their passivity in the face of the dictatorship, in a message posted on her verified X account that quickly generated hundreds of responses.
"Let us reflect... If I see someone standing up against the dictatorship, does that become a reason for me to settle into silence and watch the show from the sidelines, assuming that person will speak for me?" wrote the 21-year-old young woman, a resident of Alamar, Havana.
Bensi pointed directly to a trend he considers dangerous: delegating resistance to a few while the rest watch from the comfort of their seats.
"The fear of individuals to report what we are experiencing in Cuba is real, as the repression by the Castro regime is also real. However, we must understand that supporting a person who dares to speak out does not mean leaning on their voice and assuming that their skin will substitute for yours or that it will have the same impact as an entire people daring to think aloud," he pointed out.
The activist rejected the idea that unity implies uniformity, proposing instead a differentiated yet committed participation.
"Everyone has a mouth. And if someone doesn't want to be a mouth, let them be an arm or a leg. Unity does not mean that we are all the same, but that we work together and do our part well in favor of a common purpose," he wrote.
The message concluded with a spiritual call: "Be true to your convictions and demonstrate this through your lives. And set your eyes on God, not on any man."
The post comes at a time of intense pressure on Bensi. Just two weeks earlier, she was held for nearly 12 hours at the Alamar police station, where she received threats of imprisonment for "inciting public disorder."
After that interrogation, the young woman summarized in a few words the message she was conveyed: "Shut up or create different content."
Bensi and her mother, Caridad "Cary" Silvente, have been under house arrest since March 25, 2026, charged under Article 393 of the Cuban Penal Code for "acts against personal and family intimacy," charges that carry a sentence of two to five years in prison.
The origin of the process was a video that Bensi posted, showing a MININT agent delivering an irregular summons at his home.
The regime also hacked their WhatsApp and Telegram accounts and deactivated their ETECSA lines on April 21, 2026.
Bensi is a member of the youth collective Fuera de la Caja Cuba, founded in January 2026 in the Cerro municipality, which uses art, theater, and social media to promote free thought and challenge state indoctrination.
Your case has crossed the borders of the Island: Mike Hammer, head of mission at the United States Embassy in Cuba, visited her on April 9, 2026, and met with her and the collective in May, while Amnesty International documented her case as part of a pattern of harassment against young people who use social media to question the Cuban government.
Three days before this post, Bensi had already challenged the regime with another straightforward statement: "It will be until the people want."
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