Dagoberto Valdés and his colleague Yoandy Izquierdo are in the same situation; Major ‘Ernesto’ has not given any explanation
14ymedio, Havana, January 23, 2025 — Catholic intellectual and activist Dagoberto Valdés Hernández was arrested this Friday by State Security agents at his home in Pinar del Río, in an operation that also involved police officers. The arrest was reported by the Center for Coexistence Studies (CEC), an organization Valdés has led for more than two decades and which has become one of the most enduring spaces for independent civic thought in Cuba.
According to information released by Convivencia, the operation was led by Major Ernesto, a State Security officer who “handles” that organization. The officer arrived at Valdés’s house accompanied by a police patrol and took him away without explaining the reasons for the arrest or where he was being taken. Since then, members of the CEC have tried to locate him at Police Headquarters and at the State Security offices in Pinar del Río.
The arrest wasn’t limited to Valdés. Shortly afterward, Yoandy Izquierdo, a member of the Community Relations team , went to the headquarters of the Technical Investigations Department (DTI) in Pinar del Río to inquire about Valdés’s situation. There, he was received by Major Ernesto himself, who proceeded to arrest him: “You’ve saved me a trip, because I was just about to come looking for you too.” Izquierdo had left his phone with some friends before being detained at that DTI headquarters, located at kilometer 4 on the road to San Juan y Martínez.
A central figure of the Cuban Catholic laity, Valdés has been for decades a benchmark of critical thinking not aligned with power
Convivencia confirmed to this newspaper that both Dagoberto Valdés and Yoandy Izquierdo are being held at that police facility. The manner in which the arrest was carried out once again highlights a recurring practice of the Cuban repressive apparatus: detention without a warrant, without formal notification to the family, and without information about the detainees’ legal status. It is unknown whether this is a case of enforced disappearance of short duration, a tactic designed to sow uncertainty, intimidate those around them, and prevent an immediate public reaction.
Dagoberto Valdés is not a new name in the files of State Security. An agricultural engineer by training and a central figure in the Cuban Catholic laity, he has been for decades a leading voice of critical thought not aligned with the regime. First through the magazine Vitral in the 1990s, and later through Convivencia, Valdés has promoted a discourse centered on human dignity, citizen participation, and the need for a peaceful and democratic transition in Cuba. This combination of structured thought, moderate language, and persistence has proven particularly uncomfortable for the regime.
The harassment against him and his team has been systematic. Interrogations, police summonses, veiled threats, smear campaigns, and temporary detentions are all part of the repertoire used against the center. On several occasions, Valdés has been stopped on the road, detained for hours, and subjected to interrogations focused on his international connections, the magazine’s funding, and the center’s contacts with other civil society actors. None of these actions have resulted in legal proceedings, but they have served to maintain constant pressure.
Since its founding, the Convivencia Studies Center has been committed to analyzing Cuban reality from a pluralistic perspective, addressing topics such as the economy, education, culture, and citizens’ rights.
This Friday’s arrest comes amid a tightening of political control and growing intolerance toward any form of autonomous organization. While the government insists on its discourse of “unity” in the face of the economic and social crisis, coupled with fears of military actions similar to those carried out by the US in Caracas, repression against critical voices, including those advocating dialogue and non-violence, is intensifying.
In recent days, other prominent figures in the critical press and intellectual circles have experienced a similar ordeal. Journalist Henry Constantín, director of La Hora de Cuba, was released after being detained and held incommunicado for 44 hours in Havana. A few days later, writer and columnist Jorge Fernández Era was detained for 16 hours, also with his whereabouts unknown, after going out to carry out his monthly civic protest.
Since its founding, the Center for Coexistence Studies has been committed to analyzing Cuban reality from a pluralistic perspective, addressing topics such as the economy, education, culture, and civil rights. Its texts, seminars, and proposals have avoided the language of direct confrontation, which has not prevented the authorities from taking radical measures against the project. For State Security, simply thinking about Cuba outside the official narrative constitutes a threat.
On social media, activists, intellectuals, and believers have expressed their concern and demanded Valdés’s immediate release. This reaction, however, has once again been met with the usual wall of official silence.
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