CASE UPDATE: Yoendri Luna Caballero Detained for 3rd Time Since July 11, Still in Custody

UNPACU member and former political prisoner Yoendri Luna Caballero was detained Sunday, July 25, by Cuban State police. This is the third time he has been detained since the July 11 protests. He remains in police custody in Siboney, Santiago de Cuba.

The young UNPACU member was first arrested on July 11, in relation to the protests taking place in Santiago de Cuba, and across the island. He was eventually released two days later, on July 13, after the authorities found no evidence that Luna Caballero participated in protests.
 
Later that evening, Luna Caballero was picked up again by local authorities, allegedly to prevent him from participating in any protests that were supposedly going to take place that day. He was held for 5 days, and eventually released with a warning letter, stating he could not participate in any future protests. Luna Caballero refused to sign the letter.
 
Luna Caballero was most recently detained on Sunday, July 25, and remains in police custody.  It is unclear at this time what reason authorities gave for the latest detention, but individuals familiar with the case noted it might be related to journalistic activities he was conducting.
 
These increased incidents of harassment and multiple detentions by local Cuban State authorities come only three months after Luna Caballero was paroled from a prison in Santiago de Cuba where he was serving over two years for “Precriminal social danger” (“peligrosidad social pre-delictiva)”. During his sentence, Caballero was repeatedly beaten, threatened, and harassed by police and prison authorities.

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