Global Liberty Alliance
  • About Us
    • Mission
    • GLA Team >
      • Staff And Advisors >
        • Jason I. Poblete
        • Mauricio J. Tamargo
        • Arthur Freyre
        • Cara Di Silvio
        • Mariana Tejeida-Olvera
        • Veronica Mayer
        • Fr. Fernando Hería
        • Abbe Jolles
        • Dr. Tomaž Slivnik
        • Dr. Jane F. Adolphe
      • Board >
        • Terry T. Campo
        • Frank M. Mendez
        • Jason I. Poblete
        • Mauricio J. Tamargo
        • Dr. Stephen M. Thompson
    • Policies >
      • Anti-Slavery & Anti-Human Trafficking
      • Business Conduct & Ethics
  • Working Groups
    • Brazil >
      • Brazil Cuban Medical Mission Files
    • Guatemala >
      • Guatemala Cuban Medical Mission Files
    • Honduras >
      • Honduras Cuban Medical Mission Files
    • Nicaragua
    • Uruguay >
      • Uruguay Cuban Medical Mission Files
  • Featured Case Work
    • Free Yorubas of Cuba, Regularly Attacked for Faith
    • Alina Lopez-Miyares, US Citizen Tried by Cuban Tribunal
    • Jamshid Sharmahd, ​Businessman and Broadcaster Kidnapped into Iran
    • Roberto Quiñones, Jailed for Journalism
    • José Daniel Ferrer and UNPACU Activists
    • Rigal-Expósito Family, Torn Apart for Homeschooling
    • Tejeda-Lescaille Family, Persecuted for Jewish Faith
    • The Whittaker Chambers Farm
    • Past Cases >
      • Apostolic Movement Of Cuba
      • Roberto Bendaña McEwan – INTERPOL Abuse by Nicaragua
      • Nizar Zakka – U.S. Legal Permanent Resident, Hostage in Iran
  • News & Media
    • Global Voices for Liberty
    • GLA News
    • Media
  • Invest
  • Tips

The Association of Free Yorubas of Cuba,
​Beaten and Persecuted for their ​Beliefs

Members of the Association of Free Yorubas of Cuba (Asociación de Yorubas Libres de Cuba, or “Free Yorubas”) are regular victims of harassment by Cuban State Security.

​The association was founded in 2012 by Yorubas who disagreed with the Yoruba Cultural Association of Cuba, which is controlled by the government watchdog Office of Religious Affairs (ORA). Free Yorubas have been subject to arbitrary detentions and beatings, destruction of ceremonial objects, police monitoring, and searches-and-seizures without probable cause. State hostility towards the Free Yorubas seems to have escalated since early February 2020, when they challenged Ms. Caridad Diego, head of the ORA, to a public debate on freedom of conscience.


Free Yorubas Public Relations head Ms. Eliaisys Almeida Pavón was detained in Placetas, Villa Clara, on February 24, 2020. Executive Secretary and Vice President and married couple Ms. Donaida Pérez Paseiro and Mr. Loreto Hernández García were detained and threatened on March 11. Ms. Pérez alleges in her statement, the officials mocked all faiths, professing that “there is only one god, Fidel Castro,” and stating an obscenity about God, the saints, and orishas. On August 3, three members of the Free Yorubas were separately summoned to the Placetas, Villa Clara police station and threatened. On September 30, two Free Yorubas leaders were held overnight and beaten; one of the women left police custody with a broken arm.

The regime regularly uses police citations to harass and intimidate Free Yorubas and other believers independent of the state. The Global Liberty Alliance continues to monitor the Cuban regime’s treatment of the Free Yorubas and will fight for their freedom of belief.
Related News & Media:
  • ADNCuba, Mar. 8, 2021: "Recibe golpiza por ser fiel a sus creencias." 
  • Radio Televisión Martí, Feb. 23, 2021: "Entidad de EEUU condena violaciones de la libertad religiosa a Yorubas Libres de Cuba."
  • ADNCuba, Feb. 23, 2021: "EE.UU. condena acoso a yorubas independientes de Cuba."
  • 14ymedio, Feb. 22, 2021: "Una comisión de EE UU pide sancionar a la Oficina de Asuntos Religiosos de Cuba."
  • AméricaTevéCanal41, Feb. 22, 2021: "Denuncian las violaciones que experimentan en Cuba los santeros en la isla."
  • ADNCuba, Oct. 2, 2020:"Denuncian arresto a cubanas de la Asociación de Yorubas Libres de Cuba."
  • ADNCuba, Aug. 6, 2020: "Yorubas citados por la policía política."
  • ADNCuba, Feb. 25, 2020: “Denuncian hostigamiento contra la Asociación de Yorubas Libres de Cuba.”​
GLA Advocacy:
  • Global Liberty Alliance (YouTube), Mar. 8, 2021: "Free Yorubas News Alert: Young man beaten by State Security, Rapid Response Brigades." 
  • U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Feb. 22, 2021: "Factsheet: The Santería Tradition in Cuba."
  • Association of Free Yorubas of Cuba (GLA YouTube), Aug. 4, 2020: Statement on Cuban Religion Police Harassment (in Spanish).
  • U.S. Department of State, Jun. 10, 2020: 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom (Cuba) - Free Yorubas and GLA cited on page 6 of the Cuba section of the report.
  • Global Liberty Alliance (YouTube), Mar. 11, 2020: “Free Yorubas of Cuba - Declaration of Communist regime abuses ("only one god: Fidel Castro")” (Spanish with SP/EN subtitles).
  • GLA Press Release, Feb. 24, 2020: Cuba's Religious Police Continues Harassing and Intimidating the Association of Free Yorubas (English and Spanish).​ ​
SUPPORT RULE OF LAW
Invest In Liberty
Picture
CONTACT INFORMATION
510 King Street, Suite 340
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 566-3041

info@globallibertyalliance.org

HOME   CASES   POLICIES   THE TEAM   NEWS  INVEST  TIPS

Global Rule of Law & Liberty Legal Defense Fund (d/b/a The Global Liberty Alliance)
©2020 All rights reserved.
  • About Us
    • Mission
    • GLA Team >
      • Staff And Advisors >
        • Jason I. Poblete
        • Mauricio J. Tamargo
        • Arthur Freyre
        • Cara Di Silvio
        • Mariana Tejeida-Olvera
        • Veronica Mayer
        • Fr. Fernando Hería
        • Abbe Jolles
        • Dr. Tomaž Slivnik
        • Dr. Jane F. Adolphe
      • Board >
        • Terry T. Campo
        • Frank M. Mendez
        • Jason I. Poblete
        • Mauricio J. Tamargo
        • Dr. Stephen M. Thompson
    • Policies >
      • Anti-Slavery & Anti-Human Trafficking
      • Business Conduct & Ethics
  • Working Groups
    • Brazil >
      • Brazil Cuban Medical Mission Files
    • Guatemala >
      • Guatemala Cuban Medical Mission Files
    • Honduras >
      • Honduras Cuban Medical Mission Files
    • Nicaragua
    • Uruguay >
      • Uruguay Cuban Medical Mission Files
  • Featured Case Work
    • Free Yorubas of Cuba, Regularly Attacked for Faith
    • Alina Lopez-Miyares, US Citizen Tried by Cuban Tribunal
    • Jamshid Sharmahd, ​Businessman and Broadcaster Kidnapped into Iran
    • Roberto Quiñones, Jailed for Journalism
    • José Daniel Ferrer and UNPACU Activists
    • Rigal-Expósito Family, Torn Apart for Homeschooling
    • Tejeda-Lescaille Family, Persecuted for Jewish Faith
    • The Whittaker Chambers Farm
    • Past Cases >
      • Apostolic Movement Of Cuba
      • Roberto Bendaña McEwan – INTERPOL Abuse by Nicaragua
      • Nizar Zakka – U.S. Legal Permanent Resident, Hostage in Iran
  • News & Media
    • Global Voices for Liberty
    • GLA News
    • Media
  • Invest
  • Tips