“The dictatorship of Havana engages in state terrorism against its citizens,” states Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the OAS.

On the morning of March 26, at a press conference, we requested international support and denounced the situation of the 53 promoters of Cuba Decide, the vast majority of which are members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba who remain on hunger strike on the island, demanding an end to the repression that prevents the humanitarian efforts of UNPACU activists.

The participants warned about the serious danger the strikers face, as they continue to be harassed and surrounded by the police. They also requested action from the international community to stop the regime’s impunity and the constant repression. With his denunciation of State terrorism that the dictatorship of Havana applies against its citizens, Luis Almagro, joins in the accusations that several promoters of Cuba Decide made before the IACHR in response to the repressive patterns implemented by the regime on the island.

At the press conference, organized by the promoters of Cuba Decide, José Daniel Ferrer, Leader of UNPACU and promoter of Cuba Decide on hunger strike, Katherine Mojena, member of UNPACU and promoter of Cuba Decide on hunger strike, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, General Coordinator of the MSI and Rosa María Payá, director of the Foundation for Pan-American Democracy and promoter of Cuba Decide.

The leader of UNPACU and promoter of Cuba Decide, José Daniel Ferrer, who has been on a hunger strike for seven days, explained the reasons for taking these extreme measures. “The Castro-communist regime leaves us no other option,” he said. In addition, Ferrer asked the United States to put “respect for human rights before business in its review of policy towards Cuba” and assured that the regime “makes fun” of the European Union, because “with its collaborative projects they help to consolidate the repressive and controlling policies of the Castro-communist regime.”

Another striker, Katherine Mojena, warned that she and her fellow strikers are in danger of being forcibly evicted from the UNPACU headquarters – a habitual pattern of repression to eliminate dissenting voices.  The regime took similar actions in 2019 against other UNPACU strikers, and in November 2020 against the San Isidro Movement.

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara was present via a video wherein he reinforced Mojena’s anticipated warning and expressed total solidarity with the strikers.

Finally, Rosa Maria Payá stated that “Raul Castro and Miguel Diaz Canel, virtually in command of the Cuban State, are responsible for state terrorism that is inflicted upon citizens in Cuba and today they are also responsible for the physical integrity of each of the strikers. We ask the governments and democratic institutions of the Americas and Europe to act. This is not the time for unilateral concessions, it is time to pressure the dictatorship in favor of the Cuban people’s demand for democratic change.”

We will continue to report on the evolution of the hunger strike and its participants through the social media profiles of Cuba Decide.