Activist arrested, fined, threatened and falsely accused by a state agent

On the afternoon of June 9, 2020, activist Henry Couto Guzmán was cycling down the street toward Santamaría, in the city of Guantánamo, when he was hit from behind by a Suzuki motorcycle carrying an agent from the Department of State Security (DSE) and one of the sector chiefs from the area where Mr. Couto lives. The sector chief told him that he had to accompany him to the sector, where he was threatened that he could no longer visit the people he was visiting. He was referring to Rafael Puente Creme and Bartolo Cantillo, activists of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) in Guantánamo. The activist defended his freedom but was threatened with prosecution for the propagation of the epidemic, even though this crime was not established in Guantánamo. Immediately afterwards, the officer imposed a fine on him and handed it over to the victim. The DSE officer threatened that he would be fined so much that he would have to leave or end up in jail.