Chillón Paizán, known for his activism in favor of constitutional changes, has been transferred to Villa Marista.
14ymedio, Havana, March 13, 2026 – “I am accusing the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, of violating what the Constitution says,” was the phrase spoken by Juan Carlos Chillón Paizán that led to his arrest last Wednesday during protests in the Havana neighborhood of Lawton.
Chillón Paizán was detained in an operation that included four police patrol cars, according to the detainee’s mother, María Cristina Paizán, a retired doctor, who spoke to Martí Noticias. Videos shared by users on Chillón Paizán’s own profile show the arrest, which neighbors tried to resist while shouting at the police “Abusers!” “Shameless!” and “Down with the dictatorship!”
The activist was transferred to the headquarters of State Security, known as Villa Marista, where he remains under investigation for alleged crimes against State Security. These carry penalties ranging from 10 to 30 years in prison and can even lead to life imprisonment or the death penalty, according to the current Cuban Penal Code (Law 151 of 2022).
Paizán’s mother said that a police investigator at Villa Marista received her and informed her that her son was under investigation for violating constitutional provisions. “He says that my son led the public demonstration and explained to me that they recognize the right to freedom of expression and the right to protest, but that it has a limit. What he could not explain to me was what limit my son crossed,” the mother said.
“He explained to me that they recognize the right to freedom of expression and the right to protest, but that it has a limit. What he could not explain to me was what limit my son crossed.”
Juan Carlos Chillón Paizán is an activist who has participated in civic movements seeking democratic reforms in Cuba. He has been president of the M-SURD movement, dedicated to promoting constitutional changes and respect for citizens’ rights, and he has a history of arrests for his activism in Havana, including during the Island-wide 11 July 2021 [’11J’] protests.
His mother says that Paizán had already filed a complaint days earlier with the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office of Havana, when he submitted a document stating that several rights recognized in the Constitution are not respected in practice.
She has not been able to see him since his arrest and says that at Villa Marista she was prevented from delivering medication, even though Chillón Paizán suffers from epilepsy and needs treatment with carbamazepine. “I went to bring the medicines, but they would not accept them because I had to bring a medical certificate explaining why he takes carbamazepine,” she said.
The family says they do not have the resources to hire a lawyer who could clarify the legal process the detainee is facing.
On social media, users have expressed solidarity with Chillón Paizán, demanding his immediate release. The messages ask for a “proof of life” and hold the authorities responsible for his physical safety.
“I went to bring the medicines, but they would not accept them because I had to bring a medical certificate explaining why he takes carbamazepine.”
His case adds to the wave of arrests that has occurred during the recent protests against blackouts. The independent legal organization Cubalex has documented at least 14 detentions related to demonstrations recorded since March 6 in Havana. Of those arrests, the identities of only eight people have been confirmed.
In its February report, the organization Prisoners Defenders reported a new record number of political prisoners in Cuba: 1,214, including 131 women and 31 detainees who were minors at the time of their arrest.
Meanwhile, political prisoner Roilán Álvarez Rensoler, a member of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unpacu), has been on a hunger strike for nearly 40 days and is hospitalized in serious condition.
Álvarez Rensoler was arrested on January 30 of this year for alleged anti-government graffiti in several municipalities of Holguín and began his hunger strike while detained at the Pedernales police operation center.
His sister reported that authorities have conditioned his release on the family guaranteeing his immediate departure from the country. “They asked whether we had a way to get him out of here immediately, even tomorrow. If there was any certainty about something, it was that they would take him out of the situation he is in,” she explained.
Álvarez Rensoler is currently in intermediate care with severe kidney damage because he is consuming only minimal amounts of water.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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