By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent
HAVANA, CUBA (Worthy News) - Two Protestant pastors have been “arbitrarily detained” by Cuba’s internal intelligence services ahead of an event on “freedom of religion or belief” (FoRB), rights activists told Worthy News late Thursday.
Alejandro Hernández Cepero and Luis Eugenio Maldonado Calvo were reportedly taken into custody on the morning of October 31 when the FoRB event was about to begin.
Their detention added to concerns among Christians about faith and religious rights in Cuba, a communist-run island.
“Both men said they were threatened by officials from the Department of State Security and warned against participating in such [religious] events,” said advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).
The event, which CSW called “a roundtable to encourage citizen engagement on FoRB,” took place in Havana, the capital, despite the absence of the pastors and intimidation, Christians said.
Cuban security forces who surrounded the location reportedly attempted to stop some attendees from participating, sources familiar with the situation said.
EXILED PASTOR
Despite the difficulties, “representatives from a wide range of religious groups were able to attend. Similar events took place simultaneously on other parts of the island,” CSW explained.
Mario Felix Lleonart Barroso, an exiled Baptist pastor and founder of the Patmos Institute, an independent group in Cuba defending FoRB and religious dialogue, condemned the incidents.
“Unfortunately, the Cuban dictatorship views the theme of religious freedom as a sensitive topic associated with the United States, which it sees as its historic enemy,” he said in remarks shared by CSW with Worthy News.
“They are unable to understand that they are dealing with a universal theme, and they see it as an issue of national security which – and they are right about this – will strengthen Cuban civil society.”
Pastor Maldonado Calvo told CSW that the officers made it clear that
Pastors Hernández Cepero and Maldonado Calvo said they were questioned about their relationship with Barroso by DSE agents. “They planned to fabricate a reason to accuse us [of criminal activity] because they told me so multiple times… that I should not continue to support these meetings,” recalled Maldonado Calvo. He said they made clear “they could damage my reputation and accuse me of some crime that would result in my imprisonment for various years.”
BOMBING CHARGES
In a statement distributed by CSW, he added that security officers told him that the “FoRB roundtable was a pretext to meet together to plant bombs and to carry out attacks.”
CSW said the two pastors could not present the Patmos Institute’s annual prize, given to Cuban individuals who exemplify the importance of FoRB, as had been planned.
“This year’s recipients are sisters Angélica and María Cristina Garrido Rodríguez and brothers Jorge and Nadir Martín Perdomo, all political prisoners detained following their peaceful participation in the nationwide protests of 11 July 2021,” CSW told Worthy News.
The four individuals have been repeatedly denied the right to receive visits from religious leaders while in prison or to participate in religious activities, according to rights activists. They also “experienced discrimination and ridicule because of their religious beliefs. The mother of the Martín Perdomo brothers, Marta Perdomo, who has been blocked from attending religious services as part of the government’s policy of socially isolating dissidents and their families, was present in order to receive the prize on behalf of her sons.”
CSW’s Head of Advocacy Anna Lee Stangl said her group “condemns the Cuban government’s detention” of the pastors and “acts of intimidation targeting participants of peaceful gatherings.” She stressed that the “courage of those who attended and participated in the FoRB roundtables in Havana and across the country cannot be underestimated.”
CSW urged the international community to pressure the government to respect “fundamental rights enshrined in international law and which the Cuban government purports to protect.”
UN RESOLUTION
The announcement came as the United Nations General Assembly called for the 31st time on the United States to end its decades-long trade embargo against Cuba as it suffers its worst economic crisis in decades, with shortages of food, fuel, and medicine.
The non-binding resolution was approved by 187 countries and opposed only by the United States and Israel, with Ukraine abstaining.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in a speech before the assembly that the "blockade prevents Cuba from accessing food, medicines, and technological and medical equipment."
Havana is also prohibited from exporting to the neighboring United States, Rodriguez said, curtailing access to a massive market for its goods and costing Cuba nearly $5 billion in losses in 2022 alone.
The trade embargo was imposed following Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution and has remained essentially unchanged amid concerns about reported human rights violations by the communist government.
Cuba has long denied systematic rights abuses and accused the United States of meddling in its internal affairs.