The director of ‘La Hora de Cuba’ is being investigated for “disobedience,” while the head of ‘Convivencia’ was prohibited from attending an event at the U.S. Embassy.
14ymedio, Havana, September 17, 2026 – State Security is holding independent journalist Henry Constantín, director of La Hora de Cuba, in detention in Camagüey. Meanwhile, in Pinar del Río, a political police officer went to the home of intellectual Dagoberto Valdés to prohibit members of the Center for the Study of Coexistence (CEC) from attending an event organized by the U.S. Embassy in Havana.
Constantín has remained since Wednesday afternoon at Villa María Luisa, the State Security headquarters for operations and interrogations in Camagüey, and is being investigated for an alleged offense of “disobedience,” La Hora de Cuba reported Thursday.
The information was communicated to Alejandra García, a journalist and Constantín’s partner, when she went to an appointment with the investigator in charge of the case this Thursday. The official was not there, but another officer explained to her that the investigation was related to a previous summons, scheduled for September 9 at the Directorate of Identification, Immigration and Foreigners, in the Vista Hermosa neighborhood. According to La Hora de Cuba, the authorities maintain that Constantín “did not arrive on time” for that meeting and that such conduct could constitute “disobedience.”
A female official even claimed that the journalist was not registered at that unit
The current episode of repression began last Tuesday, around 2:30 in the afternoon, when an agent identified as Felipe verbally informed Constantín that he had to appear the following day at 8:30 in the morning at the Second Unit of the National Revolutionary Police, located on Carretera Central.
Constantín went to the station, and his last communication with his colleagues took place at around 8:48 in the morning. Around one in the afternoon, members of La Hora de Cuba tried to find out where he was but received contradictory answers, and a female official even claimed that the journalist was not registered at that unit. Hours later it became known that he had been transferred to Villa María Luisa.
This is not the first time Constantín has been held at those facilities. In June 2025, he was detained while accompanying journalist Iris Mariño to a summons and was also transferred to Villa María Luisa. During 2026 he has also suffered several arrests and summonses, as documented by organizations and independent media.
“We are coming to tell you in advance so that you don’t have a bad night”
More than 500 kilometers away, in Pinar del Río, the pressure took another form this Thursday. The Center for the Study of Coexistence denounced that a State Security officer identified as Major John went to the home of its director, Dagoberto Valdés Hernández, to warn that members of the organization were prohibited from participating in the American Nights event, organized by the U.S. Embassy in Havana.
“We are coming to tell you in advance so that you don’t have a bad night,” the officer said, according to the statement issued by Convivencia.
Major John had previously intervened in actions against the CEC. On April 8, he participated, together with Major Juan Manuel Pérez, head of the brigade responsible for confronting the “counterrevolution” in Pinar del Río, in the interrogations of Valdés and Yoandy Izquierdo at the Immigration and Foreigners offices. The Center itself identified John at the time as the new officer responsible for “handling” the organization.
As on previous occasions, State Security resorted to different methods to prevent those meetings from taking place normally
Those interrogations took place after several visits by agents to Valdés’s home and the detention of members of the environmental project Naturpaz. According to the CEC, the officers then warned that they would not allow certain workshops or links between Convivencia and other independent projects.
Nor is this the first time that authorities have tried to prevent Valdés from participating in diplomatic gatherings. In June 2025, State Security summoned him to warn him that it would not allow residents of other provinces to travel to Havana for a U.S. Embassy reception for the Fourth of July. In January of this year, Valdés and Yoandy Izquierdo were detained in Pinar del Río for contacts with U.S. diplomats.
Although both repressive incidents occurred in distant provinces, they took place just hours before an event organized by the U.S. Embassy in Havana, to which several members of civil society had been expressly invited. As on previous occasions, State Security resorted to different methods to prevent those meetings from taking place normally.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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