State Security arrests the writer once again amid growing repression in Cuba.
14ymedio, March 19, 2026, Havana / The writer and activist Jorge Fernández Era was detained this Wednesday in Havana for several hours after leaving his home to carry out his usual peaceful protest, which he holds on the 18th of each month.
The writer himself later posted that he remained detained between 3:13 pm and 11:33 pm at night in a cell at the Zanja police unit in Centro Habana.
Fernández Era recounted the details this Thursday in a Facebook post titled The Pact of Zanja, referring, with his usual humor, to the agreement that ended the Ten Years’ War between Cuba and Spain in 1878.
According to the writer, he was intercepted in the Santos Suárez neighborhood by a patrol car with four agents, two from State Security and two from the police and taken handcuffed—“of course,” he writes—to the station. “Given the deployment, people must have thought they had finally caught the second most wanted drug trafficker in the world,” he joked.
Given the deployment, people must have thought they had finally caught the second most wanted drug trafficker in the world
Fernández Era points out that the Zanja station brings back memories of the beating the police gave him last year in that same place. During his detention, he was interrogated by a lieutenant colonel from State Security, who allegedly suggested that he cease his activism: “In the style of Martínez Campos, between the lines he proposed surrender.” The writer rejected the proposal: “I replied that for a long time now the counterrevolution is represented by them and all those who live well at the expense of the sacrifice, silence, and double standards for the people. I told him that he should take me to trial if he felt like it for telling him what he was constantly writing down: I would go proudly to prison if he proceeded that way.”
The activist also pointed out the ironic concern the Police had for his physical integrity when releasing him after 11:30 at night. According to his account, his release was not an act of goodwill but rather due to the authorities’ fear of a public reaction.
News of his arrest had been made public yesterday by his wife, Laideliz Herrera Laza, through a message on Facebook: “My husband, Jorge Fernández Era, left at 2:15 p.m. to exercise his right to peaceful protest, recognized in the Constitution, and has not yet returned home.” Hours later, she warned that the activist had not returned. After more than seven hours, she confirmed his release: “My husband is now home. Thank you all for your support.”
The detention occurred just two months after a similar arrest on January 18, when Fernández Era remained missing for 16 hours after attempting to carry out the same monthly protest. The writer has been detained on multiple occasions, and in several of them he has reported mistreatment, including beatings by authorities, who inflicted injuries he later showed to the media.
The writer has been detained on multiple occasions, and in several of them he has reported mistreatment, including beatings by authorities
The writer has participated in these actions since 2023, joining the initiative promoted by academic Alina Bárbara López Hernández, who has also been detained dozens of times for protesting peacefully and who has a pending trial, postponed without a date, for the crime of contempt and disobedience that, according to State Security, occurred during one of those arrests.
This detention takes place amid an intensification of police repression, which has worsened in recent days following protests over power outages. In this context, authorities have increased the use of short-term detentions without charges against activists and independent journalists, especially those who attempt to exercise the right to protest in public spaces.
Translated by Regina Anavy
______________________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.