Austin Llerandi, director of the community newsletter Amanecer Habanero, left Cuba on Tuesday for Brazil with his pregnant wife, just weeks after State Security agents warned him that he needed to leave the country or face jail time due to his journalistic work.
The Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and the Press (ICLEP) condemned Llerandi's departure, which it labeled as "forced exile," and held the Cuban authorities responsible for the pressures leading up to his departure.
The departure marks the end of more than two months of increasing harassment that has also been documented by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
On July 14, Llerandi was interrogated for over an hour at a police station in Marianao. According to his testimony, an officer identified as "Rodrigo" had the latest edition of Amanecer Habanero on his phone and warned him that he could face imprisonment if he continued distributing the bulletin.
"If you distribute the newsletter, the next time I call, give your wife a kiss on the belly, or you'll be in jail," the officer would have said, according to the account documented by ICLEP. The organization also noted that the agent had gone the day before to Llerandi's father's house to locate him and was aware of details regarding the couple's visits to the hospital due to the pregnancy.
Llerandi later explained to the CPJ that the interrogation was related to the general content of Amanecer Habanero, a newsletter that addresses everyday issues in Cuba and is distributed independently of state media.
"Leave the country or you'll go to jail."
The pressure increased on August 21, when Llerandi returned to the Marianao station after receiving a summons. He stayed there for five hours and was warned that he was being investigated for a possible violation of Decree-Law 370, as documented by the CPJ.
During that interrogation, a captain identified as "Miguel" communicated the ultimatum to him.
«We are going to give you the opportunity to leave the country in two months. If you are not gone in two months, you will be imprisoned. Think of your daughter," Llerandi recounted.
"No journalist should have to choose between imprisonment and exile simply for doing their job," stated José Zamora, regional director for the Americas at CPJ.
Llerandi refused to sign the warning statement that, according to his testimony, was presented to him by the authorities. Days later, he released a video from Havana in which he asserted that he would continue working despite the pressure.
"The dictatorship exists, the dictatorship has weapons, the dictatorship has ways to repress us, countless ways to repress us. What we must not stop doing is working," he stated.
Finally, the 36-year-old journalist left Cuba on Tuesday, September 29, along with his wife, and traveled to Brazil.
Complaints to international organizations
Before his departure, the case had reached international instances.
The ICLEP presented a request for precautionary measures for Austin Llerandi and his family before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH). The organization explained that it made this decision in light of the threat of imprisonment, the ultimatum to leave Cuba, and the use of his wife's pregnancy and their unborn daughter as leverage. The ICLEP also called on the United Nations to monitor the case and make a public statement.
The CPJ, for its part, issued two alerts regarding the case. In July, it urged the Cuban authorities to put an end to the threats against Llerandi and, after the interrogation in August, demanded again that the harassment cease and reminded him of his right to remain in Cuba and practice journalism without the threat of imprisonment.
ICLEP has now requested the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to expedite the request for precautionary measures, for the United Nations to address the case, and for Brazilian authorities to provide protection to Llerandi and his family.
An escalation against the independent press
The case occurs amidst other episodes of pressure against independent communicators in Cuba.
In September, journalists and activists were subjected to surveillance, subpoenas, and interrogations. Among them was Yunia Figueredo, who reported that State Security agents threatened her with opening a file for espionage and with
This is joined by the case of Henry Constantín, director of La Hora de Cuba, detained on September 16 in Camagüey and later confined in Kilo 7 prison. CiberCuba reported on the imposition of preventive detention.
The figures from ICLEP itself show that July was the month with the highest number of violations of freedom of expression and the press recorded by its observatory in 2026. That report explicitly included the case of Llerandi and documented the threats of imprisonment related to the distribution of Amanecer Habanero.
“Austin Llerandi committed no crime. He distributed a bulletin that informs about what is happening in his community, and for that, they threatened to imprison him and used his pregnant wife and unborn daughter as instruments of pressure. Today, he leaves his country bearing the weight of having been expelled for practicing journalism,” stated Normando Hernández, general director of ICLEP.
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