The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Juan Pablo Segura, condemned on Friday the sentence handed down by a Cuban court against content creator Anna Bensi and her mother, Caridad Silvente, calling the conviction an act of cowardice by the regime.
"The cowardice of the Cuban regime knows no bounds. Once again, they flee in fear and silence anyone who voices opinions different from those of their failed revolution," Segura wrote on his official X account.
The official, appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate in August 2026, demanded the release of all unjustly detained individuals, including the evangelical pastor known as "El Pregonero."
On Thursday, the People's Municipal Court of Havana del Este found Anna Bensi and her mother guilty of the crime of "acts against personal and family privacy," imposing two years of restricted freedom on each of them.
The case originated in March 2026, when a sub-official from MININT went to the home of Bensi and her mother to deliver a summons from State Security. Mother and daughter recorded the encounter and shared it on social media, which triggered the legal proceedings against them.
Anna Bensi, 21 years old and a resident of Alamar, Havana, reacted with composure upon hearing the verdict: "We are not criminals," she had stated before entering the courtroom. After learning about the sentence, she said: "God is in control."
The day of the trial was marked by a heavy security operation. The evangelical pastor Rolando Fidel Pérez Lora, “Herald of Christ,” was detained while heading to the court to support the accused, along with the Christian activist David Espinosa Martínez. Other activists reported being monitored and facing restrictions when trying to leave their homes.
The process was presided over by Judge Zamira Marrero Morgado, criticized by activists for having served on courts that judged demonstrators from the 11-J protests. Despite the security measures, Bensi arrived at the court to the applause of family and supporters.
Segura also demanded the release of the pastor "El Pregonero," who tried to accompany the accused to court but was arrested before arriving. "All those unjustly detained need to be set free," the official emphasized.
The sentence generated a wide wave of international condemnation. The U.S. Embassy in Cuba published on the day of the trial the message "Thinking differently is not a crime."
The Cuban-American congressmen Mario Díaz-Balart, María Elvira Salazar, and Carlos A. Giménez demanded the unconditional release of both women. Salazar described the process as "a desperate act of a dying dictatorship," while Giménez warned that those who oppress the Cuban people "will not go unpunished."
The organization Cubalex has argued since the beginning that recording the actions of police officers while performing their duties constitutes a legitimate exercise of citizen rights, a position that the court disregarded in issuing its ruling.
Anna Bensi also revealed that the complaining agent had initially demanded a public video apology "to restore his morale," a condition she rejected and that, according to activists, demonstrates the political nature of the persecution against her.
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