21 Organizations Sign Petition for the Release of Two ‘14ymedio’ Collaborators Detained in Cuba

Yadiel Hernández and José Gabriel Barrenechea are being held without trial for “propaganda against the constitutional order” and “public disorder.”

14ymedio, Havana, 25 April 2025 — A total of 21 human rights and press freedom organizations have endorsed a statement by 14ymedio demanding the release of two of its collaborators, Yadiel Hernández and José Gabriel Barrenechea, who have been held in Cuban prisons for months.

Hernández, 33, is being held in Combinado del Sur, Matanzas, and faces prosecution for “propaganda against the constitutional order.” His arrest occurred on January 24 while he was investigating drug trafficking at a school in the city. He was taken to a State Security headquarters, where he was interrogated and held for almost a month before being sent to prison.

Kakashi, as he is also known, has been deprived of legal counsel, and this newspaper wishes to express its concern about his stay in a prison known for its appalling conditions and reports of abuse.

Three months before Hernández’s arrest, on November 8, 2024, José Gabriel Barrenechea was arrested. The 14ymedio contributor has been imprisoned for almost six months, without trial, for participating in protests against the blackouts that day in the municipality of Encrucijada, Villa Clara. Initially, authorities tried to charge him with sedition, but he will ultimately be tried for “public disorder,” the journalist himself said a few weeks ago from prison.

Following the mass protests of July 11, 2021, the regime has increased its repression against independent journalists.

During his incarceration, Barrenechea has suffered from several illnesses and, above all, has been unable to care for his 84-year-old mother, Zoila Esther Chávez, whose health has also deteriorated significantly in recent days.

The statement emphasizes that, following the mass protests of July 11, 2021, the regime has increased its repression against independent journalists and anyone attempting to disseminate Cuban reality, a measure consolidated with the entry into force of the Social Communications Law on October 4, 2024.

“Both Hernández and Barrenechea exemplify the Cuban regime’s allergy to press freedom and the excessive use it makes of independent media,” the statement adds, calling on the international community to take action on behalf of Cuban journalists who are being harassed by State Security.

The following organizations, both Cuban and international, have signed 14ymedio ‘s complaint , and we invite other organizations and media outlets to join this call by sending an email to contacto@14ymedio.com: