14ymedio, Havana, 9 March 2016 — Sirley Avila Leon arrived in Miami on Tuesday for medical treatment and to try to regain her mobility. The activist, 56, was the victim of a brutal assault last May, which has left serious wounds and forced her to use a wheelchair.
The trip has been organized by the Cuban Democratic Directorate in coordination with the Commission of Municipal Women of Miami. The patient will be treated at the Miami Medical Team Foundation, as reported to14ymedio by activist Agustín López Canino.
Sirley Avila became known when, as a delegate to the People’s Power from the village of Limones in the municipality of Colombia, Las Tunas, she staged a protest in 2013 to demand the reopening of a small school in her district that the local authorities had closed because of the small number of students.
Disagreements with the local authorities grew louder and the delegate was sanctioned. From that moment, she strongly denounced the harassment by State Security and collaborated with several opposition groups, including the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU).
On 24 May 2015, after a discussion with Osmany Carrion, a worker on her farm, Avila was attacked with a machete, which caused her the loss of a hand, a broken collarbone and problems in both legs, among other injuries. After several weeks in the hospital, Avila was discharged in a delicate state.
