Trans woman remains in prison two years after protesting in Cuba

A transgender woman with HIV who participated in an anti-government protest in Cuba on July 11, 2021, remains in prison two years later.

Authorities arrested Brenda Díaz in Güira de Melena in Artemisa province.

The Güira de Melena protest was one of dozens against the Cuban government that took place across the country July 11, 2021. Díaz is among the hundreds of people who were arrested during the demonstrations.

A Havana court last year sentenced García to 14 years in prison. She appealed her sentence, but Cuba’s People’s Supreme Court upheld it.

Yoan de la Cruz, who is gay, used Facebook Live to livestream the first July 11 protest that took place in San Antonio de los Baños in Artemisa province. The same Havana court that sentenced Díaz condemned De La Cruz to six years in prison, but he was released in May 2022 and placed under house arrest for five years.

Mariela Castro, the daughter of former Cuban President Raúl Castro who directs the country’s National Center for Sexual Education, earlier this year during an interview with Agencia EFE dismissed reports that Díaz continues to suffer mistreatment in prison. The U.S. State Department has repeatedly urged Cuban authorities to release Díaz and others who participated in the July 11 protests.

“Today, we mark two years since tens of thousands of Cubans across the entire island raised their voices for their fundamental freedoms,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday in a statement. “The United States stands in solidarity with those in Cuba who continue to desire a free democracy where their voices are heard, their businesses prosper and their children can achieve a brighter future.”

“The world will not forget those who bravely made their voices heard in the face of extreme repression, including the more than 700 individuals who remain in Cuban jails, condemned to prison sentences ranging up to 25 years for exercising their freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly,” added Blinken.

Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is among the American lawmakers who also acknowledged the second anniversary of the July 11 protests.

“Two years ago today Cubans marched to demand their freedom,” said the Florida Democrat in a tweet. “Those calls cannot go unanswered. We must stand strong against the regime until they free political prisoners and respect human rights.”

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Republican presidential candidate who is of Cuban descent, in a tweet noted the “largest protest for freedom in Cuba began two years ago today.” Suarez also said the Biden administration “ignored their pleas for help.”

“As president, I would have a message to the oppressors of Cuba — freedom is coming,” tweeted Suarez.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS