On January 27, 2021, marking two months since the sit-in by Cuban activists, artists, and intellectuals in front of the Ministry of Culture, about thirty youths returned to MINCULT to try to speak with the minister regarding the detentions and harassment that several individuals had faced in Cuba since early in the morning.
Coinciding with the eve of the Apostle's birthday, around twenty members of 27N had organized to attend Parque 13 de marzo to "honor the figure of the Apostle, while renewing the demands for a fairer and more inclusive society, as two months have passed since the peaceful protest in front of MINCULT," as stated on the movement's Facebook page.
The invitation, initially made privately, was circulated from a profile on social media. Following this, members of 27 were alerted by State Security that they were aware of the organized initiative. Deputy Minister Fernando Rojas, for his part, contacted three spokespersons from 27N to attend MINCULT to resume negotiations that had been stalled since November.
The day of the 27th, however, began with arbitrary detentions, surveillance, and house arrests of Cuban activists and journalists to prevent them from attending the tribute to Martí.
For this reason, several members of 27N went to MINCULT to demand "immediate releases." The young people, to whom Deputy Minister Fernando Rojas asked to march, ended up becoming victims of repression in Cuba, beaten on-site, mistreated after being arbitrarily arrested, and some of them remained for several hours in an unknown location.
Instead of the dialogue with the authorities that the protesters were requesting, those who maintained the safety distance stipulated by the coronavirus pandemic were physically assaulted by the minister Alpidio Alonso and forcibly removed from the location in a bus against their will. “We are not criminals,” some shouted as they were compelled to board the vehicle.
After the events, which were widely condemned on social media by individuals committed to the freedom of Cuba and outraged by the abuses against those who dissent, demand, or insist on their right to be heard; Cuban television aired a report that only gave voice to the workers of MINCULT but did not show the minister's aggression towards those who came to the institution to peacefully protest.
Mobile data service was intermittently cut off to prevent documentation on social media of what was happening that day in Havana.
On social media, where the moment of Alpidio confronting some young people has circulated widely, calls have begun for the resignation of the Cuban Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso and Deputy Minister Fernando Rojas.
