Havana/Despite the extreme surveillance to which the Havana Capitol and its surroundings are usually subjected, a man managed to climb to the top of the stairs this Friday carrying a sign that on one hand said, in capital letters, “No + discrimination”, “abusive politics” and “down with the dictatorship” and on the other, “homeland and life and freedom.”
The man, with blue jeans and no sweater, first walked through some streets of Central Havana, from Monte, as seen in one of the videos recorded by witnesses and compiled by Martí Newsuntil reaching the headquarters of the National Assembly of People’s Power.
In another of the images shared by the Cuban-American media, the journalist Ivette Pacheco He holds a cell phone while talking to a source in Havana, who tells him what is happening at that moment. “When did this start?” Pacheco asks. “Right now, as soon as I sent you the video, yes this was right now,” answers the interlocutor, named Melanie.
A crowd of passers-by could be seen around the Capitol, most raising their phones to record the unusual scene.
A crowd of passers-by could be seen around the Capitol, most raising their phones to record the unusual scene. In a third video, it is seen that four agents approach the strangerwhose name has not been revealed, they take him down and put him in a patrol car. Before getting into the vehicle, the man shouts: “Down with the dictatorship!” and someone in the crowd replies: “Down!”
Immediately, one of the police officers turns to the crowd and addresses one of the witnesses, whom he appears to confiscate his cell phone. “A lack of respect, that’s what they are,” a spectator is heard behind the camera saying.
The place is no small thing. The surroundings of the Capitol in Havana have one of the most constant security operations in the entire country. Even for years, walkers have been prohibited from passing through the surrounding gardens and several posts, with uniformed police and guards, prevent curious onlookers from getting too close to the imposing structure.
There has not been a time when a demonstration of this type has not resulted in the arrest of the protester. One of the most notable cases was that of Luis Roblesnicknamed for this reason “the young man with the banner”, who in December 2020 appeared on San Rafael Boulevard, also in Central Havana, with a sign that read “Freedom, no more repression, #FreeDenis.”
The claim concerned the rapper Denis Solissentenced in those days to eight months in prison in a summary trial and who would end up exiled via Serbia. Because of his actions, Robles himself ended up spending more than four years in prison before being released. in January 2025due to an agreement between the Cuban regime and the Vatican. Nine months after leaving captivity, he was forced into exile in Madrid.
