The Protestant pastor Alexis Padrón Lorenzo, 58 years old and leader of the Communion in Faith Church in the Havana municipality of Regla, was released on September 11 after more than three months of incommunicado detention, according to reported by the human rights organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).
The arrest occurred on June 10 at the intersection of Camilo Cienfuegos and 24 de Febrero streets in Regla, during a neighborhood protest sparked by prolonged blackouts and food shortages. The pastor recounted that on that day he had left his house deeply disturbed: “The children were hungry, the food had spoiled,” he declared in an interview with Martí Noticias. Upon encountering the demonstration and hearing the explanations from local leaders, he began to shout slogans and confronted what turned out to be the head of the Criminal Investigations Department (DTI) in the area.
"I started shouting 'Down with the dictatorship.' I told them that Christ had sacrificed Himself for the world, but they wanted to sacrifice Cuba to live for themselves," the religious leader stated.
Two days after the incident, the authorities summoned him to the Regla police station and notified him of charges of contempt of public authority and public disorder. From there, he was transferred to the detention center El Vivac in Havana, and on June 27, he was moved to Valle Grande prison, where he remained until his release.
At the same time, Padrón Lorenzo suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, a condition that worsened his situation during the lockdown. The conditions he described were extreme: spoiled food, water outages lasting up to four consecutive days, and family visits limited to one every 21 days in Valle Grande. Phone calls were only possible when there was electricity supply.
"I couldn't eat, I lost a tremendous amount of weight there, I couldn't eat that food," he reported. Regarding the separation from his family, he noted that it was "especially painful" and that he "suffered a lot."
The pastor insisted that his words were not directed against any particular person: "What I shouted there did not mention any names and was not aimed at anyone specifically, but at a governmental structure."
His release was made possible thanks to the efforts of his defense attorney, who is also a Christian, according to Padrón Lorenzo himself. However, the charges have not been dropped, and he must report to the police to sign every Friday and Sunday while awaiting trial. The lawyer advised him to "keep a low profile" in hopes of converting the precautionary measure into a fine.
The case is set against a backdrop of protests that shook Cuba in June 2026, driven by power outages that left nearly 70% of the country without electricity simultaneously. In Regla, there were protests with cookware on June 20, amidst a wave that various observers estimated included between 107 and 253 demonstrations across the country that month.
Religious repression is not an isolated phenomenon either. So far in 2026, State Security has detained or summoned several pastors in different provinces, and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom included Cuba among the countries with serious and systematic violations of religious freedom in its annual report for 2026.
Anna Lee Stangl, director of Advocacy and Head for the Americas at CSW, celebrated the release but was firm: “CSW celebrates the release of Pastor Alexis Padrón Lorenzo, although he should never have been detained, and the conditions imposed on him afterwards are unjust and unnecessary. Freedom of expression is a fundamental right, and no one should be detained or imprisoned for peacefully expressing themselves in defense of their community. Therefore, we demand the full and immediate acquittal of the pastor.”
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