Cuban dictatorship arrested correspondent for Spanish newspaper ABC

The correspondent of the Spanish newspaper ABC in Cuba, Camila acosta, was arrested on Monday as she left her home in Havana carry out a personal proceeding, as reported by the media themselves, after it has been brought forward Cubanet, the site for which the journalist also works.

A few hours before the arrest, Acosta had covered the protests taking place in the Cuban capital against the regime of Miguel Díaz-Canel.

Acosta had blocked access to the internet and the WhatsApp messaging app since the last hour of Sunday reason which “justified”, according to ABC, that he did not respond to messages and calls.

“If the Cuban regime does not reconsider, or if the world forces it to reconsider, blood will flow, because the Cuban people shouted loud and clear that they had lost their fear “Acosta wrote in his last post on the social network Twitter. “It is time to put pressure on them to leave power. If we give in now, we will have many more years of dictatorship “added the correspondent.

According to the newspaper ABC, ” notor this is the first time that Camila Acosta has been detained by the Cuban regime for her critical information with the government. He also suffered social rejection, which forced him to change his address on several occasions when his rental contracts were revoked by his owners, victims of pressure from the Cuban authorities.According to her, she told this newspaper last February. The journalist also cannot leave the island because it is ‘regulated’, a form of punishment against those who make uncomfortable statements abroad about the Cuban government. “

According to what was reported by the Spanish media, in addition to Acosta, other journalists such as Iris Mariño, from Camagüey, and Orelvis Cabrera, from Matanzas, were arrested.

In their attempt to silence what has transpired in recent hours, Cuban authorities have also cracked down on journalists covering the protests on Sunday. Ramon espinosa, a photographer for the AP agency, was assaulted by the regime’s shock forces and ended up with a bloody face.

The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) on Monday condemned the arrest and attacks on independent journalists in Cuba during protests, and denounced the interruption of internet service while the protests were broadcast on social networks.

In a statement, the regional organization also denounced the call for the use of force “with the clear intention of restricting freedoms of association, press and expression”.

During the social demonstrations that groups of citizens have carried out in various localities and provinces of the country “Several journalists have been arbitrarily attacked and arrested”, denounced the IAPA, based in Miami (Florida).

Independent journalists “affected” include Hector Luis Valdés, of the digital portal DNA Cuba; Ramon espinosa, an Associated Press (AP) photojournalist, and an agency cameraman, who were assaulted by security forces while covering protests in a central Havana neighborhood.

So far, the number of “censored” communicators is unknown who “have had their cell phones and work equipment confiscated and are suffering from the interruption of Internet communications.”adds the statement.

“We condemn the regime’s attacks on people demonstrating and also on journalists covering the events,” in particular Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s call to “use force, with the clear intention of restraining them. freedoms of association, of the press and of expression, ”he declared. Jorge Canahuati, President of IAPA.

Thousands of Cubans took to the streets yesterday to protest the regime, shouting “Freedom! in an unprecedented day that resulted in hundreds of arrests and clashes after Díaz-Canel will order his supporters on television to come out to face the demonstrators and defend the Revolution.

According to the IAPA, the protests were broadcast live on Facebook when internet connection service was suddenly cut off across the country.

One more time, IAPA denounced the use of the Cuban Telecommunications Company SA (ETECSA) state monopoly to silence independent journalists.

The recent protests “reflect the fatigue of Cubans for a government that continues to believe that it owns the lives and fates of its citizens,” he added in the statement. Carlos jornet, Chairman of the IAPA Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information.

“We hope the regime does not seek to create another black spring,” Jornet added, recalling the repression and prison that many Cubans, including several independent journalists, had to pay after the 2003 social protests.

(With information from Europa Press and EFE)

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