The journalist Camila Acosta reported this Friday the presence of a police operation stationed in front of the home of activist Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente —known as Anna Bensi— and her mother, Caridad Silvente, in Havana, aimed at preventing them from going out on the street.
Acosta documented the operation in a reel posted on his Facebook profile, in which he described the situation as "police surveillance against Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente and Cary Silvente on November 6, to prevent them from going out onto the street arbitrarily."
The video shows a white Peugeot 308 car with the number 396 and a blue light on the roof, with uniformed and plainclothes officers in front of the women’s home.
The siege against Bensi and his mother was not an isolated incident. On the same day, State Security launched simultaneous operations against multiple journalists and activists in Havana to prevent them from attending an event at the United States Embassy, including Yoani Sánchez, Lara Crofs, Adelth Bonne Gamboa, Yunia Figueredo, Boris González Arenas, Marthadela Tamayo, and Osvaldo Navarro.
Acosta herself, who reported the operation against Bensi, was also besieged that day, just three days after being handcuffed and held for more than eight hours while heading to a veterinary appointment.
Activist Lara Crofs reported that the agents didn’t even allow her to leave to attend her aunt’s wake. "I have a wake happening right now for an aunt who passed away last night at the Emergency Hospital, and they won't let me attend," she wrote on Facebook.
"There is no documentation, no identification, nothing; they are simply going to arrest me and won't let me leave my house," he said.
The case of Anna Bensi and her mother has a long history of repression. Both were sentenced to two years of restriction of freedom at the beginning of October by the People's Municipal Court of Havana del Este, under Article 393 of the Cuban Penal Code, after recording and posting on social media a subofficer from the Ministry of the Interior who came to their home in Alamar to deliver a summons from State Security.
The sentence involves restrictions on movement, prohibition from changing residence without judicial authorization, and an obligation to appear before the court when required.
Anna Bensi is linked to the collective Fuera de la Caja Cuba, made up of young digital content creators. On Friday, Karel Daniel Hernández Bosques, also a member of the collective, was held for 12 hours during interrogation at the Aguilera police unit before being released.
The week from November 2 to 7 has seen an escalation of repression on the island, with arrests of journalists, widespread home confinement, and confiscation of work equipment.
The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights documented at least 387 repressive actions in October 2026 alone, compared to 344 in September, bringing the total for 2026 to 3,438.
"We are experiencing a wave of repression against all Cubans who create content or engage in political activism," declared Mauro Reigosa Pérez, a member of Fuera de la Caja Cuba.
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