Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists demand the immediate release of the journalist, director of ’14ymedio’
14ymedio, Madrid, November 5, 2026 / Yoani Sánchez, director of 14ymedio, was kidnapped by the political police 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. More than seven hours later, there is still no news of her whereabouts.
The journalist notified her colleagues at this newspaper of her brief errand 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: “I was kidnapped by the police.” 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 and The Objective in Spain, Martí Noticias and the Miami Herald in Florida (USA), and El Universal in Mexico .
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 is demanding that “the authorities disclose her whereabouts, guarantee her safety, and release her.” Amnesty International has also condemned the arrest in a social media post.
For its part, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued a statement strongly condemning the arrest of the newspaper’s director and recalling the recent attacks on independent journalists residing 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 put an end to these arrests and allow journalists to report without fear of reprisal.”
These events occurred during a week that saw two similar incidents. Last Monday, Adelth Bonne Gamboa, a contributor to CubaNet, was violently detained 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 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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