Last week, the Global Liberty Alliance sent a letter to Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley of the Archdiocese of Boston after his visit to Cuba and other Caribbean countries. After receiving several responses from colleagues and friends in Cuba, on September 22, GLA sent a second letter to the Cardinal to address additional concerns and urging Americans and American Catholics to side with the people of Cuba over the Cuban government and its Office of Religious Affairs.

​Earlier this week, the Global Liberty Alliance updated the OAS’s Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on the status of political prisoner and UNPACU member Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez García.
 
Mr. Rodríguez, who has been imprisoned since 2016, is currently in a precarious medical situation as Cuban prisons struggle to provide adequate healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic.

​On September 17, the Global Liberty Alliance (GLA) applied for Precautionary Measures from the Organization of American States (OAS) Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on behalf of four members of the Association of Free Yorubas of Cuba (“Free Yorubas”), Donaida Pérez Paseiro, Loreto Hernández García, Lisdiani Rodriguez Isaac and Lisdani Rodríguez Isaac.

​Earlier this week, the Global Liberty Alliance wrote a letter to Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley of the Archdiocese of Boston, in response to a blog post the Cardinal wrote following his most recent trip to Cuba and other Caribbean countries.

​Last month, Reina Reyes Gómez, a member of the Free Yorubas of Cuba, was fined 2,000 CUP for her participation in the peaceful protests that broke out on July 11.

​(Alexandria, Virginia) The Global Liberty Alliance, a network of lawyers and fundamental right defenders dedicated to strengthening basic rights, free markets, and the rule of law, is urging fellow human right defenders to help raise awareness of the plight of the Association of the Free Yorubas of Cuba (“Free Yorubas”) whose members have been rounded up and unlawfully imprisoned for their beliefs and peaceful resistance efforts to endemic Communist Party persecution.

​On August 31, Ms. Elizabeth Cintra Garcia, member of the Free Yorubas of Cuba, was summoned to a local police station and fined 3,000 CUP for participation in the peaceful protests that broke out nation-wide on July 11.
 
Before being summoned, Ms. Cintra was placed in prison, then under house arrest, as a precautionary measure pending a trial, however, Cuban authorities opted to issue a fine instead of affording Ms. Cintra the opportunity to appear before a judge and defend the charges brought against her.

UPDATED (9/2/2021 7:20PM EST)
 
One day after paying fines, Pastors Yéremi Blanco Ramirez and Yarian Sierra Madrigal were summoned once again to the local police station where they were informed they would be monitored/under surveillance for a 6-month period. They were forced to sign a document acknowledging this fact but were not given copies.
 
This type of surveillance is often used by Cuban authorities when they are preparing to charge individuals with “pre-criminal dangerousness.”
 
GLA’s legal consultant close to the case speculated that the Cuban authorities were targeting the pastors because they are Christians and they can organize many people quickly, their personal facebook pages also references the popular #SOSCuba which authorities consider an act of dissidence. The consultant added, “for the regime they [the Pastors] are dangerous.”

​On August 31, 2021, Dayron Dadiz Larrondo, a member of the Free Yorubas of Cuba, was summoned to appear at a police station in Placetas, Villa Clara, after participation in island-wide protests that broke out July 11.
 
When Mr. Dadiz arrived, he was fined 1,000 CUP for his involvement in the peaceful protests. The penalty issued in lieu of a trial, denies Mr. Dadiz of his right to due process under Cuban law. He was neither granted the opportunity to defend himself against charges bought forth by political police, nor was he provided with state-appointed legal counsel.

​On Monday, August 30, four activists, Marisol Peña Cobas, Adrián Quesada Flores, Leyanis Heredia and Yasmanis Suárez, were summoned before the Municipal People’s Court of Camagüey and tried for alleged crimes of “resistance” after distributing printed materials earlier this year.
 
On February 27, the activists along with other members of the Libertarian Opposition distributed printed materials in Mendez Plaza, Camagüey, near an MLC store. The activists, simply expressing their freedom to peacefully protest, were met by State Security and PNR police, who quickly came down on the activists, beating them and detaining those involved. Nearly 7 months later, four of the activists were summoned and tried on short notice.