Erlis Sierra says he has not been ill-treated and is currently in a “dialogue with the relevant institutions”
14ymedio, Havana, October 19, 2025 — In the worst style of the Moscow trials and the self-criticism of the poet Heberto Padilla, this Saturday a video circulated in which the young doctor Erlis Sierra, arrested after the protests of Baire, in Santiago de Cuba, says that he does not want to be a “leader of anything” nor did he consider himself a “counter-revolutionary.” In the clumsy beginning, before the pediatrician speaks, the voice of a State Security officer announcing that recording has begun is heard.
“I would like to inform you that I have not been mistreated,” says Sierra, who awakened a wave of solidarity after a film was broadcast of the moment when he demanded, in front of several local officials, an improvement in the living conditions in Baire, in the municipality of Contramaestre. The blackouts, lack of drinking water and high food prices are some of the reasons that brought the demonstrators to the streets last Thursday night.
Following peaceful protests in Baire, several arrests have been reported, including the arrest of Sierra by two police officers at his own home. Subsequently, his mother, Ania Gómez Leiva, denounced the incident in a video on social networks and called on “the Cuban people” for help, because her son had been handcuffed in the Police Unit of Contramaestre and was being transferred to the city of Santiago de Cuba. Following the dissemination of this complaint, Gómez was also detained for several hours.
Shortly after the demonstrations “a truck with milk powder appeared”
The mother stresses that her son was not among the people who beat on pots and pans at the demonstration and that his statements to the local Communist Party secretary were not disrespectful at all. Gómez also says that after three months without receiving milk from the rationed market for the children of the community, shortly after the demonstrations “a truck with powdered milk appeared.”
Sierra’s arrest sparked a wave of solidarity among Baire residents and social media users, who demanded his immediate release. Internet users also recalled that the commitment made by the provincial authorities, who assured that no one would be arrested after the demonstrations, was being violated.
For its part, the video of Sierra during his arrest, published in the Facebook group Revolico Baire, was shared anonymously along with a message that hoped to bring calm: “Good night, brothers. Erlis is well, he sends his greetings to everyone. Thank you very much for the support,” the short text said.
In the recording, Sierra appears to read a script and states that he has not been mistreated “physically or verbally” and is currently in a “dialogue with the relevant institutions.” He also calls for channeling social grievances through “a respectful dialogue in order to not divide our people.”
The protest occurred in the middle of a blackout that exceeded 24 hours
His manner and words in the film contrast significantly with those of the passionate and energetic young man who reeled off the problems in Baire before local officials, in another recording that circulated hours before and was made last Friday after the protest. On that occasion, the young pediatrician strongly criticized the inaction of institutions in the face of serious problems affecting daily life, such as the poor condition of the streets and the accumulation of garbage.
His words to officials are in tune with the demands that were heard hours earlier on the streets of Baire, where on Thursday around 7:40 pm, residents began banging on pots and pans and shouting slogans like “We’re not afraid!” and “Freedom!” The neighborhoods of La Salada, El Transformador and Abisinia were the epicenter of the spontaneous mobilization that quickly spread to other streets of the village.
Several neighbors documented the demonstration with their mobile phones. The videos show people walking in groups, banging on pots and pans, and yelling phrases against the government, such as “Down with Díaz-Canel!”
The protest took place amid a 24-hour blackout, with no drinking water and an arbovirus outbreak that is worsening the local health crisis. The demonstrators avoided the main road to evade police checkpoints and walked through inner streets, passing by 8th Avenue and Central Avenue (4th Avenue), until they reached the Baire Central Park. There they concentrated in front of the police unit and next to the residence of Salvador Heredia, president of the People’s Council, where they chanted slogans of freedom and justice.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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