“If to all of the above we add the convolutedness of Cuban laws (especially on criminal procedure), the lack of a legal culture in the Cuban population, and the ignorance of the vast majority of the families of those detained in criminal proceedings, the final result is a cocktail of ignorance of the law, which the authorities take advantage of,” the priest explained.
Fr. Llorens said that the protests continued July 12, “but then there were no more, at least not as large as those on July 11."
"It’s logical that when the streets are militarized and the entire repressive apparatus is mobilized, there’s no chance to peacefully demonstrate," he emphasized.
He also denounced paramilitaries “willing to go out to beat and suppress those who are demonstrating peacefully."
The Cuban priest also charged that “the Cuban state stole the narrative of the events of July 11 by cutting off the internet throughout the island” and “at the same time it rolled out a campaign of verbal and physical violence against the participants, labeling them CIA agents, annexationists, traitors to the homeland.”
He commented that Cuba “is a completely failed state in crisis and has not been able to minimally manage not only the difficulties of previous years, but the accumulation of problems that is making the minimum functioning of a country unsustainable."
“This will continue to create dissatisfaction in the population, maintaining the conditions for new peaceful demonstrations. The Cuban people in the last 62 years had not demonstrated in this way against the regime, now they have lost their fear,” he said.
Finally, the Jesuit priest said that "a large part of Cuban society spoke out loud and clear on July 11: Freedom, this is the great need of the Cuban people … To achieve freedom is not going to be an easy task, but in faith many will continue what was unleashed on July 11.”
"Meanwhile we continue to stand up for the dignity of all people, for the right to demonstrate peacefully and not be imprisoned for doing so," the priest concluded.
Communist rule in Cuba was established soon after the conclusion of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, which ousted the authoritarian ruler Fulgencio Batista.
Diego Lopez Marina has a degree in Communication Sciences with a specialization in journalism from the University of San Martín de Porres (Peru). He began his professional career in 2015, as an editor for the Journalistic Archive area of the Diario El Comercio. In 2016 he began working as an writer for ACI Prensa and since 2018 he has been working as a web editor.