UNPACU activist arrested, interrogated and warned to avoid meeting with other activists

Vladimir Guilarte Romero, an activist of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), was detained for approximately two hours by the first lieutenant and sector chief of a rural area near Baracoa, Carlos Hernández, due to a complaint by the president of the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) in the area, Mrs. Adela Matos. With her complaint, Mrs. Matos was trying to thwart a meeting that was planned for that day at the house of another activist near the site. After the arrest, the activist was interrogated so the official would know the reasons why he was in the area. The detainee's response was that as a Cuban citizen he had the right to transit through the national territory whenever he deemed it convenient, without having to give any explanation. However, he explained to the officer that friends of his lived there and he used to visit them, also he clarified that he lived in the municipality of Baracoa. Following the interrogation of the activist, he was advised to "try not to carry out any type of illegal activity," as the Department of State Security (DSE) calls opposition activities.