Austin Llerandi, director of the community media outlet Amanecer Habanero, responded this Tuesday to the ultimatum that, as he reported, was imposed on him by the Cuban State Security: leave Cuba within two months or face imprisonment.
Instead of announcing that he would leave the country, the 36-year-old journalist published a video from Havana in which he stated that he will continue to document human rights violations and the repression against journalists and activists.
"The dictatorship exists, the dictatorship has weapons, the dictatorship has countless ways to repress us. What we cannot stop doing is working," stated Llerandi in the recording, made in front of the Hotel Nacional.
The communicator explained that he waited several days before making his response public because he needed to discuss with his wife what path to take in light of the threats.
"We were discussing here, my wife and I, the decision we were going to make, in light of these threats and, of course, to ensure that work continues to flow," he noted.
Two months to leave Cuba or face prison
The pressure against Llerandi began in mid-July, when an agent identified as "Rodrigo" went to his father's house to locate him.
The next day, the journalist was interrogated for over an hour at the police station in Marianao, where they showed him a file related to alleged "crimes against State Security."
According to his testimony, the agent ended that interrogation with a threat that directly involved his wife, who was then pregnant: "If you distribute the bulletin, the next time I call, give your wife a kiss on the belly, because you’ll be going to prison."
The situation escalated on August 21, when Llerandi went back to the Marianao station after receiving another summons. He remained there for about five hours, three of which he spent locked up and without communication, according to a statement by the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and the Press (ICLEP).
During that interrogation, a captain identified as "Miguel" allegedly communicated the ultimatum directly: "We are giving you the opportunity to leave the country in two months. If you are not out in two months, you will go to prison. Think of your daughter."
According to a statement from ICLEP dated August 24, the official himself acknowledged that the reason was to prevent the bulletins of Amanecer Habanero from continuing to "circulate freely in the streets."
Llerandi refused to sign the warning notice they presented to him.
Organizations denounce persecution against the journalist
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) had already documented the threats against Llerandi in July and demanded that the Cuban authorities put an end to the harassment.
"The harassment of journalist Austin Llerandi by State Security agents reflects the ongoing campaign by Cuban authorities to intimidate the press and silence critical information," noted José Zamora, director of the CPJ's Americas program.
Amanecer Habanero is part of the ICLEP network, which produces and distributes community bulletins for free within Cuba. The organization recorded nearly 2,000 repressive actions against the press during the first half of 2026.
Llerandi also reported in May that he had been prevented from working as a Spanish and Literature teacher after posting a video about the deterioration of his former educational institution in Ciudad Libertad, Havana.
Now, faced with the threat of imprisonment or leaving the country, the journalist insists that he will continue working.
"We cannot stop doing what we must do, which is to work, to work so that all these human rights violations are known," he reiterated.
ICLEP described the ultimatum as an attempt at forced exile: "Journalism is not a crime. Forcing a journalist to choose between leaving their homeland or going to prison is political persecution, forced exile, and state censorship."
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