Gay man detained for streaming Cuba protest in chilling display of authoritarianism

A gay man who live-streamed the first of the anti-government protests in Cuba last month has been arrested and detained.

Yoan de la Cruz live-streamed the protest in San Antonio de los Baños, near Havana, Cuba, via Facebook Live on 11 July, according to the Los Angeles Blade.

In the following days, anti-government protests continued in Cuba against a shortage of food and medicine in the country, the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and a severe economic crisis.

But as desperate citizens marched through the streets chanting “freedom”, hundreds were detained by police.

Among them was de la Cruz, whose livestream went viral, broadcasting the protests to the world. He was detained and accused of “inciting the masses”.

Luis Ángel Adán Roble, a gay former member of Cuba’s National Assembly, wrote on Twitter: “Yoan de la Cruz is the man who live-streamed the 11 July protests from San Antonio, nothing else.

“They took him from his house a few days ago and he is being accused of ‘incitement of the masses’. Free Yoan, he did not commit any crime!”

It is unclear where Yoan de la Cruz is being held, but his supporters are using social media to call for his release.