The Cuban evangelical pastor Rolando Fidel Pérez Lora, known on social media as "Pregonero de Cristo," expressed gratitude for the wave of solidarity received after being arrested on Thursday near the People's Municipal Court of Habana del Este in Cojímar, where he was heading to accompany activist Anna Bensi and her mother during their trial.
"I want to publicly thank God for the immense support received yesterday, so many gestures of solidarity, so much love, so many good-hearted people who love God, love Cuba, love freedom, love justice, and love truth, were able to stand in solidarity with the violation I suffered from that arbitrary act of kidnapping in broad daylight," declared the pastor in a video on Facebook.
According to his own account, the intention was simply to accompany the activist and her mother to the judicial proceedings, but agents intercepted him before reaching the courthouse, handcuffed him, and knocked him to the ground before putting him in a police vehicle.
After the arrest, Pérez Lora was taken before State Security officers. "After that arrest, I was subjected to a very violent interview, filled with threats, during which they wanted us to keep quiet, to say no more, but our voices will not be silenced," he stated.
The pastor pointed out that the pressures included direct threats against his family: "In my case, they were very harsh regarding my family, about everything they could use to try to silence us."
The Thursday event was marked by repression. According to reports from Cubalex, there were at least four detentions of individuals attempting to attend the court in solidarity with the accused, including the wife of Pérez Lora himself and the activist David Espinosa Martínez along with his wife.
The trial concluded that same day with the sentencing of Anna Bensi and her mother to two years of restricted freedom for "acts against personal and family privacy," a charge stemming from having recorded and shared on social media a video of a MININT agent who came to their home.
Despite the threats, the pastor reaffirmed his determination: "Our voice has not been raised out of human desire, but by God's mandate. That is why we will not be silent, because we understood that it is better to obey God than men."
The video also highlighted the unity experienced outside the court, with Catholics and Evangelicals coming together in support of those sentenced, describing that moment as the fulfillment of a prophecy regarding the awakening of the Cuban church.
The arrest on Thursday is the third that Pérez Lora has faced this year. In March, he was detained in Peñas Altas, Matanzas after praying in a public space with access to wifi and uploading a biblical video to YouTube; he was released about three hours later.
In July, he was detained for almost 12 hours at the Alamar station along with Anna Bensi and other members of the group "Fuera de la Caja."
The pastor concluded his message with a call to spread the word: "I want this message to reach the entire world, so that many people can share this video and that the world knows that in Cuba there are men and women of faith who openly, publicly, desire a free Cuba."
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