For four days, a family from Santiago de Cuba desperately searched for a 32-year-old young man, unaware that, according to their report, he was being held at a police station.
Their relatives visited hospitals and police stations without getting answers, until they discovered this Tuesday that he had been arrested for carrying a spray whose nature and use have given rise to contradictory accounts.
The independent communicator Yosmany Mayeta Labrada reported this Tuesday that Daiver Méndez Galiano, reported missing since Friday, had been located at the police station known as La Motorizada, in Santiago de Cuba.
According to the testimony of a relative, the authorities did not notify of his arrest and also did not provide information about his whereabouts when they began to search for him.
The family lost contact with Daiver on Friday morning, after he got out of a vehicle in Antonio Maceo Plaza. He had left Micro 9 and was heading towards his home in the city center, but he never arrived.
His family tried to reach him without success because his phone remained off. Concern increased as the hours passed, and in the absence of news, they began searching for him in hospitals and police stations.
On Monday, Mayeta issued a search alert explaining that family members had visited the Provincial and Clinical Surgical hospitals, as well as police departments, without obtaining any information.
They also requested citizen collaboration to find the young man.
The search ended this Tuesday when his loved ones learned he was in police custody. However, instead of resolving all their concerns, questions began to arise about the circumstances of the arrest and the lack of information in the days prior.
According to the first version provided by a relative to the communicator, a patrol had stopped Daiver for carrying a pepper spray that he supposedly used to protect himself from potential assaults.
He also reported that the agents took away his phone and did not inform his relatives about the detention.
The family assured that they had even inquired about him at Micro 9 and had made arrangements through a known police officer, but his name did not appear in the consulted registration system.
Minutes later, the case took a new turn. In an update posted by Mayeta, the communicator pointed out that, after meeting with the family members, the agents provided a different explanation regarding the object the young man was carrying.
According to that second version, the Police stated that it was not a pepper spray, but paint, and claimed that it could be used to make anti-government posters. That would have been the explanation provided to keep him detained.
Mayeta questioned that interpretation and explained that Daiver is a self-employed worker dedicated to manufacturing beds and mattresses, a task for which, according to his account, he uses spray paint.
In her latest update, Mayeta indicated that the family members were making efforts to secure Daiver's release on bail. As of that moment, his release had not been confirmed.
The lack of information reported by the family is particularly significant because Cuban legislation itself establishes guarantees for detained individuals.
The states that authorities must inform the detainee of the reasons for their arrest and provide, within the first 24 hours, the means to communicate with a family member or another person to inform them of their legal situation.
If it is confirmed that Daiver remained in custody for four days without the possibility of communicating with his loved ones, questions would arise regarding the adherence to those guarantees.
The difficulties in obtaining responses from the Police during searches for missing persons have been previously reported in Cuba.
In January 2024, relatives of the young Adriel Ruiz Benítez reported that the authorities advised them to wait, despite having been without knowledge of his whereabouts for weeks and receiving contradictory information during the search.
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