Cuba Blocks Parents of Protestors From Meeting U.S. Officials in Havana

U.S. officials are now in Havana, Cuba for high-level talks between the two countries. They were supposed to meet with the parents of detained Cuban protesters but these parents were blocked from doing so by Cuban officials.

Six parents were supposed to meet with the U.S. delegation. One of these parents, Migdalia Gutierrez, spoke to the Associated Press and stated that on the day the meeting was supposed to happen, a white car from the Cuban State Security service was waiting outside her home.

These were the parents of the 2021 protests. They claimed that they were temporarily detained by Cuban authorities and prevented from seeing the U.S. delegation on Wednesday.

"It's not convenient for them that we speak about the July 11th protests and what's happening with our children," said Gutierrez.

She admitted that she was not able to talk with the other parents because they were also detained. However, she and the others remained defiant, as she told the AP, "We aren't going to stop talking."

United States Government Criticizes Cuba for Blocking Parents From Seeing U.S. Officials

The talks between the United States and Cuba are very delicate, as this could spell the future for Cuba and many other U.S. citizens of Cuban descent, as well as the current Cuban immigration crisis and energy crisis.

One of the U.S. government's demands is better human rights treatment in Cuba, and temporarily detaining the parents of the protesters to prevent them from seeing the U.S. officials is not sitting well with the government, which criticized Cuba's actions.

According to ABC News, the talks are supposed to ease the bilateral relations between the two countries, which have been at odds with each other since the Cold War. However, this stunt by the Cuban government may have complicated the talks even more.

As of Thursday, Gutierrez told the Associated Press that she and the other parents have not been able to meet with the U.S. delegation yet. Her son, activist Brusnelvis Cabrera Gutierrez was sentenced to 10 years in prison for joining the protests. Now, his mother and other parents are vocally criticizing the Cuban government, and have been repeatedly harassed and followed for doing so.

Cuba Committed Human Rights Violations After 2021 Protests

In July 2021, Cubans launched massive anti-government protests. However, these were quickly put down and protesters were arrested in imprisoned. According to Human Rights Watch, the Cuban government's goal was not only to punish the protesters but also to deter large protests in the future.

The protests were peaceful and were mainly against the Cuban government's longstanding restrictions on rights, food and medicine scarcity, as well as its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, when the government put down these protests, Human Rights Watch reported abuses against those detained.

Some of the protesters were not only beaten but also "forced to squat naked, or subjected to ill-treatment, including sleep deprivation and other abuses that in some cases constitute torture."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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