Cuba: Yoani Sánchez arrested amid new wave of repression against independent journalists
The editor-in-chief of 14ymedio was intercepted by political police officers in Havana. Her detention comes on the heels of the recent arrests of Camila Acosta and Adelth Bonne, while Henry Constantín has remained in prison since September.
Cuban opposition blogger Yoani Sánchez
The Cuban journalist Yoani Sánchez, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper 14ymedio, was detained on Thursday by political police officers in Havana, amid a series of arrests, threats, and restrictions targeting reporters working outside the regime-controlled media system.
According to reports from 14ymedio, Sánchez was intercepted around 9:30 a.m. as she was leaving her home in Nuevo Vedado, in the Plaza de la Revolución municipality, to go shopping.
The journalist had told her colleagues she would be back in a few minutes. However, just ten minutes later, she managed to send a brief message warning that she had been detained. Since then, according to information initially released by her media outlet, her whereabouts have been unknown.
Journalist Mario J. Pentón also reported that the arrest took place violently near the Ministry of Agriculture. A witness stated that several officers forcibly pushed Sánchez into a police patrol car, as reported by ADN Cuba.
Three journalists detained in just four days
Sanchez's arrest is the third such incident reported this week involving independent journalists in Havana.
Last Tuesday, November 3, Camila Acosta, a contributor to CubaNet and correspondent for the Spanish newspaper ABC, was detained while on her way to a veterinary appointment with her pet.
According to the report published by CubaNet, State Security agents intercepted her on the street, handcuffed her, and took her to a police station.
Acosta remained in custody for several hours. After her release, she reported that the authorities disabled her cell phone and issued her a warning not to publish images of public officials again.
The arrest was related to a video recorded on October 28, in which an officer prevented her from leaving her home. The reporter had shared the footage to denounce the restrictions on her freedom of movement.
One day earlier, on Monday, November 2, Adelth Bonne Gamboa, also a CubaNet contributor, was violently detained as he was leaving his home in the Santos Suárez neighborhood of Havana.
According to a report from 14ymedio, officers handcuffed him, transported him in a patrol car, and later released him after imposing a fine of 3,000 Cuban pesos, issuing new threats of imprisonment, and confiscating several pieces of his work equipment.
Among the items confiscated were a laptop, a cell phone, two tripods, headphones and a microphone.
The sanction was imposed under Decree-Law 370, a regulation that allows for the punishment of certain online publications and which human rights organizations have denounced as an instrument of censorship.
Henry Constantín remains imprisoned in Camagüey
Added to these cases is the situation of Henry Constantín Ferreiro, director of the independent news outlet La Hora de Cuba, who has been detained since September 16 and is being held at Kilo 7 Prison in Camagüey.
The journalist remains in pretrial detention on charges of alleged disobedience. During his incarceration, he was sent to a punishment cell after prison officials claimed to have found a knife among his belongings—an accusation that Constantín has denied.
As Martí Noticias reported on November 3, the journalist was released from disciplinary isolation on October 31, after spending 15 days under that measure, but remains in prison.
His defense team has denounced procedural irregularities, including the refusal to allow witnesses, while attempting to secure a modification of the pretrial detention order.
The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) has demanded his release and held the Cuban authorities responsible for his physical and psychological well-being.
Organizations denounce the increase in persecution against the press
The Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and the Press (ICLEP) has denounced an escalation of restrictions against those who practice independent journalism in Cuba.
According to the records of the Cuban Observatory for Freedom of Expression, 1,158 violations of freedom of expression and freedom of the press have been documented in 2026, of which 243 specifically involve violations of freedom of the press.
Organizations defending journalists warn that temporary detentions, the confiscation of equipment, legal threats and police surveillance are part of the tactics used to hinder journalistic work.
The arrest of Yoani Sánchez, along with the recent cases of Acosta, Bonne, and Constantín, once again shines a spotlight on the conditions under which independent journalists work in Cuba, where private media outlets covering political and general news are not legally recognized within the state-run press system.
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