UNPACU activist from Baracoa was interrogated for more than 72 hours for having spoken about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with young people in the street

On September 9, 2020, the activist of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), Hugo González Castillo, was detained by the captain and head of sector Gianny Clape Rodríguez and by the major of State Security and head of confrontation Alfredo Oliveros. The reason for the arrest, according to the activist, was that the police (PNR) officer mentioned above saw the activist as he was speaking with a group of young people about article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and about the government violation of those rights. In that moment the activist was arrested and taken to the PNR unit where he remained for more than 72 hours under interrogation and threats of all kinds, including death threats in case he continued to mock the revolution and its leaders. The activist says that lieutenant colonel Lesnier Leiva, who was questioning him, told him that whoever did not agree with the revolution, should take a boat and have sharks eat him or should drown in the sea. This officer also told him that they were not going to allow any type of demonstration in the country and whoever dared to take to the streets, had to face the consequences. Activist Hugo González says that he could see that lieutenant colonel Lesnier Leiva was scared that the population would take to the streets. The activist was released after spending more than 72 hours under intense questioning. Before being released, the police chief and lieutenant colonel Orlis Sánchez, the head of State Security and the head of confrontation with the opposition Major Alfredo Oliveros told him to transmit the warning to all the activists who worked with him and also to Keyber so that he wouldn't be surprised because they weren't going to repeat it. The activist was released on September 12 at noon.