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LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN Copy

Home / POLITICAL PRISONERS / BY REGION / LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN Copy

why it matters

Some countries in the region have cracked down on civil society and have increased arrests of civil society activists. Civil society activists in Cuba and Venezuela in particular are facing increased pressure and arbitrary arrests. In Venezuela, the country is facing serious challenges.  With extremely high inflation and increasing citizen insecurity in recent years, tensions between the authorities and reform-minded citizens keep rising.  In February and March 2014, police arrested hundreds of people who were protesting soaring prices, shortages of basic products, and consistent abuse by security forces.  Although the Cuban government has appeared to bow to international community’s demands of ending civil society intimidation, the Cuban government has maintained tight control over public space. While long-term sentences for political prisoners have lessened to some extent, the government still uses short-term arbitrary arrests, harassment, and threat to stifle fundamental freedoms. Today, Cuba still has more than 70 political prisoners according to independent civil society groups on the island.

María del Carmen Cala Aguilera

Cuba

Detained April 2015
Maria is an active member of Cuba's Ladies in White group and has been charged with "attack" by government authorities.

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Ricardo Pelier Frómeta

Cuba

Arrested May 2014
Ricardo is a member of Unión Patriótica de Cuba (UNPACU) and was arrested in May 2014 by state security after they violently entered the home of his friend Yoelkis Rosabal Flores.

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Rosmit Mantilla

Venezuela

Detained May 2, 2014
 UPDATE: Rosmit Mantilla was elected to parliament during the Venezuelan elections in December 2015. As a member of parliament, Rosmit is eligible for parliamentary immunity but has not been released by the government. Rosmit Mantilla was a student studying Communications in Caracas. Mantilla. Founder of the movement Pro-Inclusion, he was arbitrarily arrested due to his activities promoting the equal rights of the LGBTI community.

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Mario Ronaide Figueroa Diéguez

Cuba

Sentenced December 2, 2014
 A member of Unión Patriótica de Cuba (UNPACU), Mario was charged with "public disorder" and sentenced to three years imprisonment on December 2, 2014.

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Reinier Rodríguez Mendoza

Cuba

Sentenced August 2015
 A member of Unión Patriótica de Cuba (UNPACU), Reinier participated in a number of public civic activities in Havana calling for greater respect for human rights. He was subsequently arrested by authorities for his public activism.

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Yeimi Varela

Venezuela

Detained May 1, 2014
 Yeimi Varela was the security person in the office of the Venezuelan human rights organizations A Worlds Without Censorship and Human and Free. After taking part in anti-government protests in 2014, the office in Caracas was raided by the SEBIN (Bolivarian Intelligence Service), and he was arbitrarily detained and accused of conspiracy and possession of explosives.  He was accused, and is awaiting to go to the trial and then be sentenced.

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Jordys Manuel Dosil Fong

Cuba

Sentenced August 2015
 Jordys was detained after he attended a peaceful public protest in the Parque Central de la Habana. He was charged with "pre-criminal dangerousness" and subsequently sentenced to three years of imprisonment.

 

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Yoelkis Rosabal Flores

Cuba

Detained May 2014
 Yoelkis is a member of the Unión Patriótica de Cuba (UNPACU) and two other young activists were detained by police for staging a protest calling for the release of student and fellow UNPACU member  Yohannes Arce Sarmiento.

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Gilberto Sojo

Venezuela

Detained November 26, 2014
UPDATE: Gilberto was hospitalized in April 2016 for a hypertensive emergency brought on by prison conditions and is suffering from insufferable pain in his cervical vertebrae.  

Gilberto Sojo is a community leader for the political party “Popular Will” in his town of San Agustin, Caracas. He was arbitrarily arrested by the testimony of an anonymous patriot cooperating and taken to prison along with his wife and his 3 year old son. His wife and son were released 24 hours after the arrest.

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Renzo Prieto

Detained May 10, 2014
 UPDATE: Renzo Prieto was elected to Venezuela's parliament during the December 2015 elections. Despite the immunity bestowed on elected members of parliament, Renzo remains imprisoned. Renzo Prieto is currently enrolled in undergraduate studies at the headquarters of the Mérida State UPEL and is a graduate of the University of Tachira as a Technician in Sports Training. He known to his friends as “The Christ” for his physical resemblance to Jesus Christ.

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Daniel Ceballos

Venezuela

Detained March 19, 2014
 UPDATE: After being under house arrest for one year, Daniel Ceballos was rearrested on August 25, 2016, and he remains imprisoned.

Daniel Ceballos, human rights activist and former mayor of San Cristóbal in Táchira was suspended and dismissed by the Venezuelan Supreme Court for contempt of court for failing to prosecute participants in Venezuelan peaceful protests in 2014. His charges include rebellion and conspiracy. He is currently going under a judicial process to receive the final decision on his sentence.

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Gerardo Carrero

Venezuela

Detained May 8, 2014
Gerardo Ernesto Delgado Carrero is a human rights activist and national coordinator of "Operation Freedom.” He is the also the National Coordinator of the "Youth Organization Venezuelans,” pioneers in setting up camps for students and young dissidents under the method of "Organized Civil Resistance" and "No Violence.” These individuals camped at UNDP headquarters in Caracas in 2014 calling for "National Consciousness.”

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Antonio Ledezma

Venezuela

Detained February 19, 2015
The mayor of Caracas, Venezuela's capital, Antonio Ledezma, has been arrested in his office in February, amid accusations of a coup attempt. About 10 men with guns and a hatchet came for the mayor, bundling him out of the building.  He is charged with allegedly supporting groups plotting to use violent acts to destabilize the country, conspiracy and staging a US-funded attempted coup against President Nicolas Maduro.

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Ronny Navarro

Venezuela

Detained June 28, 2014
 UPDATE: While in prison, Ronny is subjected to searches of his belongings every 15 days.

Ronny Navarro was arbitrarily arrested by the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN) at the airport in Maiquetia, Caracas on June 28, 2014.In early 2014, a large group of young people formed peaceful protest camps in tents throughout the national territory for more than 40 days. Ronny Navarro was one of the leaders of the camp in the Plaza “Alfredo Sadel" in Las Mercedes, Caracas.

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Leopoldo Lopez

Venezuela

Detained February 18, 2014
 UPDATE: On August 12, 2016, a Venezuelan appellate court decided to uphold Leopoldo's 14-year sentence for charges of conspiracy, public incitement, arson and damage to public property.

Currently serving as the National Coordinator of Venezuelan opposition political party Voluntad Popular, Leopoldo Lopez led the organization of peaceful protests in 2014. The protests became violent, resulting in six deaths, for which he was later apprehended. On August 12, 2016, a Venezuelan appellate court decided to uphold the baseless 14-year sentence that Lopez was given for charges of conspiracy, public incitement, arson and damage to public property. However, the allegations and charges against Lopez have been criticized by the international community, which has agreed that he is a political prisoner of conscience, and has been denied a fair trial. The Court of Appeals in Caracas has even “ignored” the lead prosecutor of the original case, Franklin Nieves, and his confession of being “pressured to falsely charge” Lopez, according to the Human Rights Foundation. Despite the support for his release, Lopez remains detained in relation to the 2014 prodemocracy protests that challenged Venezuelan President Maduro’s authoritarian regime.

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