The arrest of the journalist, director of ’14ymedio’, sparked a wave of solidarity and outrage in international media, organizations and institutions
14ymedio, Madrid, November 5, 2026 / Yoani Sánchez, director of 14ymedio, has been released by State Security after being held for nine hours. The political police detained her this Thursday at 9:30 a.m. as she left her home in Nuevo Vedado, in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución municipality, to go shopping at the neighborhood market.
According to her own testimony, she has been charged with “attack against the constitutional order.”
The journalist notified her colleagues at this newspaper of her brief absence and announced she would return soon, but barely ten minutes later she managed to send a message in which she explained her situation in just four words: “The police kidnapped me.” According to the testimony of some neighbors, the State Security agent who calls himself Bruno was seen loitering in the lower part of the building when the arrest took place.
The incident has sparked a wave of outrage and solidarity among Cubans both on and off the island, journalists, activists, and organizations. Numerous international media outlets have reported the story, including El País, El Mundo, and The Objective in Spain; Martí Noticias and the Miami Herald in Florida (USA); El Universal in Mexico; and even the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong .
Juan Pablo Segura, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, stated on X: “The arrest of Cuban journalist Yoani Sánchez this morning is part of the Cuban regime’s sustained campaign to crush the independent press.” He then recalled the arrests of fellow journalists Adelth Bonne and Camila Acosta this week, and the imprisonment of Henry Constantín since September, through which “the Cuban regime demonstrates its cowardice.” The official concluded by calling for “Freedom Now” in a tweet that was retweeted by the U.S. Embassy in Havana, in Spanish.
Reporters Without Borders has condemned Sánchez’s arrest, calling it an “attack on independent journalism on the island.”
Reporters Without Borders has condemned Sánchez’s arrest, calling it an “attack on independent journalism on the island,” and demanding that “the authorities disclose her whereabouts, guarantee her safety, and release her.” Amnesty International and the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) have also condemned her arrest in a social media post .
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued a statement strongly condemning the arrest of the newspaper’s director and recalling recent attacks on independent journalists living on the island. “Cuban authorities should immediately release Yoani Sánchez and reveal her whereabouts,” said José Zamora, CPJ’s regional director for the Americas, adding, “Her detention is part of a broader crackdown on independent journalists. Authorities must end these arrests and allow journalists to report without fear of reprisal.”
On Thursday members of the Ladies in White, Berta Soler and María Cristina Labrada, were also arrested in the street . As of 2:34 p.m., according to Soler’s husband, Ángel Moya, they were still missing.
Last Monday, Adelth Bonne Gamboa, a contributor to CubaNet, was violently arrested by police officers who handcuffed him and took him away in a patrol car. Hours later he was released, but with a fine for his social media posts, several pieces of equipment confiscated, and renewed threats of imprisonment.
On Tuesday, it was Camila Acosta‘s turn. Acosta, also a contributor to CubaNet, was arrested in the street that morning by State Security agents who took her to a police station in handcuffs. The reporter explained on Wednesday that, in addition to disabling her cell phone, the authorities gave her a warning notice urging her not to disseminate images of a public official again, as she could face charges for violating personal privacy.
Several journalists from ’14ymedio’ have been victims of this type of repression since its founding in May of 2014.
Acosta had recorded an officer on October 28 preventing her from leaving her house, and the recording was released by the media outlet she collaborates with and countless social media accounts, similar to the events that led to the influencer Anna Bensi being sentenced to two years of restricted freedom.
In mid-September, State Security also arrested Henry Constantín, director of La Hora de Cuba. In his case, far from being released, he was taken a few days later to Kilo 7 prison in Camagüey, where he remains in pretrial detention accused of disobedience.
Several journalists from 14ymedio have been victims of this type of repression since its founding in May 2014. Reinaldo Escobar has been detained on numerous occasions, most coinciding with important events such as Barack Obama’s visit in 2016 or Pope Francis’s visit to the island in 2015. The journalist has been subject for years to immigration regulations that have prevented him from leaving Cuba.
Luz Escobar has also suffered countless detentions at her home, with situations of harassment in front of her minor daughters, which were the trigger for her exile in Spain, where she has lived with asylum since 2022.
Other collaborators of this media outlet were detained, from José Gabriel Barrenechea in 2024 – sentenced to six years in prison – to Yudiel Hernández, who was imprisoned for three months for investigating drug trafficking in a school in Matanzas in 2025.
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