The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Juan Pablo Segura, condemned on Thursday the repression against independent media in Cuba and accused the regime of resorting to arbitrary detentions because it "fears the truth."
The statement, published on their official X account, was made hours after State Security agents detained Yoani Sánchez in Havana, founder and director of the independent digital newspaper 14ymedio.
"The detention this morning of Cuban journalist Yoani Sánchez is part of the ongoing campaign by the Cuban regime to crush independent journalism," Segura stated.
The official also mentioned the recent arrests of journalists Adelth Bonne Gamboa and Camila Acosta, as well as the imprisonment of Henry Constantín, director of La Hora de Cuba.
"The Cuban regime shows its cowardice by resorting to arbitrary detentions because it fears the truth," he stated.
Sánchez was detained around 9:30 in the morning as she was leaving her home in Nuevo Vedado to do some shopping at a nearby market.
The journalist managed to send a brief message to her colleagues before losing contact. Her husband, fellow journalist Reinaldo Escobar, confirmed the arrest from Madrid: "Yoani Sánchez has been detained by State Security today in Havana."
According to 14ymedio, after the arrest, Sánchez's whereabouts were unknown, and the authorities had not disclosed the reasons for his detention.
The episode adds to other acts of harassment against Sánchez during 2026. In January, she was intercepted while attempting to attend a U.S. diplomatic reception, while in March and September, State Security agents prevented her from leaving her home.
A week of detentions against independent journalists
On Monday, Adelth Bonne Gamboa, a contributor to CubaNet, was detained in the Havana neighborhood of Santos Suárez. According to his report, the agents confiscated his work equipment and imposed a fine of 3,000 Cuban pesos under Decree-Law 370.
The next day, Camila Acosta, a reporter for CubaNet and correspondent for the Spanish newspaper ABC, was handcuffed and taken to a police station while on her way to a veterinary appointment with her cat.
The journalist spent several hours in a detention cell before regaining her freedom. Later, she reported new threats of criminal prosecution for having recorded an officer who was preventing her from leaving her home.
For his part, Henry Constantín has been imprisoned since September in the Kilo 7 maximum security prison in Camagüey, charged with "disobedience."
In mid-October, he was sent to a punishment cell after a search during which a knife appeared that the journalist suspects was deliberately planted.
Segura had already publicly reported the imprisonment of Constantín at the end of September, stating that he was detained "simply for reporting the truth and exposing the abuses of the regime."
International criticisms align with the reports from human rights organizations regarding the restrictions on press freedom in Cuba. The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH) documented 3,051 repressive actions between January and September 2026, according to their report released in October.
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