The organization Justicia 11J alerted this Thursday about the arbitrary detention of Lumey Guzmán, a 44-year-old self-employed Cuban resident in the Havana neighborhood of Alamar, who has been deprived of her freedom for approximately a week for posting criticisms of the regime on social media.
According to the group Fuera de la Caja Cuba, which publicly denounced the case, Guzmán attended a police summons on July 10 in Alamar and has not been released since then.
La Habana Times reported that her family had been unable to locate her or obtain official information about her whereabouts for nearly two days.
During this time, Guzmán has been moved between different police units and has remained in periods of isolation that have prevented any clarity regarding her legal situation.
The Revolutionary National Police, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Prosecutor's Office have not issued any statements confirming the arrest, the charges, or his current whereabouts.
Justicia 11J described the detention as a "reprisal inconsistent with international human rights standards" and emphasized that "detaining a person for the content of their social media posts" violates the right to freedom of expression.
The organization also demanded "immediate information regarding the situation of Lumey Guzmán, the respect for all of his procedural rights, and the cessation of the persecution against those who peacefully exercise their right to express their opinions and dissent."
Guzmán has become a recognized critical voice. In March, he denounced the abusive bank fees that the regime imposes on Cubans, of up to 10% of the amount withdrawn and a limit of 5,000 pesos per transaction.
In April, he sent a direct message to the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel in a viral Instagram video where he declared: "Let him go, but let him go to hell!", in the context of a survey indicating that 81% of Cubans wanted him out of power.
In May, he published a 33-second video in which he described the daily devastation caused by power outages lasting up to 20 and 25 hours.
"We live in a country where we had dreams, hope, and rights. Now we live in a place that cannot be called a country, where we have neither dreams, nor rights, nor hope," he emphasized.
The case is set against a backdrop of unprecedented repression. According to Prisoners Defenders, Cuba reached a historic record of 1,306 political prisoners in July, including 40 minors.
In the first half of the year, 257 arbitrary detentions and 488 illegal detentions were recorded in homes across the island.
The very collective Fuera de la Caja Cuba, which raised concerns about Guzmán's situation, has also become a target of repression. On July 2, four of its members were detained for nearly 11 hours to prevent them from attending the 250th anniversary celebration of American independence at the residence of the mission chief Mike Hammer.
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