Protester Released with $3,000 Fine After Baire Demonstrations

Authorities in Cuba have released Osmani Heredia Delfín and Alexander Acosta, two individuals detained during last Thursday's peaceful protests in the town of Baire, located in the Contramaestre municipality of Santiago de Cuba. According to independent journalists Yosmany Mayeta Labrada and José Luis Tan Estrada, Heredia was freed upon paying a fine of 3,000 pesos, while Acosta was also released, though it remains unclear if he faced any financial penalty.

"Osmani Heredia Delfín has been released with a 3,000-peso fine. Alexander Acosta is free as well. Yet, others remain imprisoned for their dissenting views," Mayeta Labrada wrote on Facebook, highlighting the ongoing repression in Cuba.

Widespread Outcry and the "Baire Cacerolazo"

The releases came after several days of social media outcry, where family members, neighbors, and activists demanded an end to what they described as arbitrary arrests following the Baire protests, now popularly dubbed the "Baire Cacerolazo". Demonstrations arose during a blackout exceeding thirty hours, prompting dozens of residents to bang pots and pans while chanting "Freedom!" and "Down with Díaz-Canel!" Their grievances also targeted shortages of food, potable water, and basic services.

Ongoing Detentions and Coercion

Despite the release of Heredia and Acosta, Erlis Sierra Gómez, a pediatrician, remains detained in Santiago de Cuba. He was compelled by State Security to record a video recanting his actions, which was shared on social media under duress. "It's clear Erlis isn't speaking freely but reading a scripted message," remarked Mayeta Labrada, who has been closely monitoring the situation.

His mother, Ania Gómez Leiva, was also briefly detained after publicly demanding her son's freedom. "My son didn't bang pots or attack anyone; he only called for solutions for the people," she asserted before being released.

Voices of Resistance

Meanwhile, activist Lucio Enríquez Nodarse confirmed the existence of a coerced video by nurse Humberto Nieto Sierra, arrested for similar reasons. Nodarse noted that the video was made "under threats and coercion." "What stands out is the repeated phrase: 'This isn't the way.' And it's there we must reflect because the 'way' they fear is the people's presence on the streets," Nodarse commented.

Opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer, coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) and now exiled from the island, called for the immediate release of all those detained in the Baire protests, denouncing the regime's attempts to "instill fear in those who dare to demand their rights." "The persecution of protesters continues. It's crucial to support the families of the detained and persecuted," Ferrer wrote on Facebook.

Community Support and Hope

Social media remains the sole platform where Baire residents and other Cubans, both on and off the island, can express solidarity with the detained. Despite the regime's efforts to enforce silence, the release of Heredia and Acosta is seen as a slight reprieve amidst the fear and uncertainty gripping Baire's residents.

Images shared by independent journalists and testimonies from families reveal the human face of a community that, despite fear, persists in demanding dignity. "The tyranny fears the people, hence the punishment and fines. But the people continue to speak, record, and denounce," Tan Estrada noted in one of his posts.

Meanwhile, the hope among residents remains that Erlis Sierra and other still-detained protesters will regain their freedom without conditions.