Cuba: What happens when pastors are regime opponents

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Cuba | 15 October 2019

According to CSW on 27 September 2019, Evangelical Pastor Alain Toledano Valiente has been accused of disobeying the authorities" instruction not to hold a women"s conference in August and could face imprisonment. In a separate development, Cibercuba reported on 7 September 2019 that the authorities had prevented Pastor Carlos Sebastiƒ¡n Hernƒ¡ndez de Armas from travelling to a Christian retreat in New Jersey. He serves as general-secretary of the Baptist Convention of Western Cuba and is officially listed as being a regime opponent. ‚ Rossana Ramirez, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "In Cuba, those who are officially against the regime will be punished, such as by not being allowed to leave the country. Cuba"s restrictions on religious freedom are well-known internationally. As the Los Angeles Times reported on 2 October 2019, US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo"s speech in Rome singled out Cuba (along with China, Iran, Myanmar and Syria) in particular for repressing religious freedom. Despite brave opposition from individuals and groups such as the newly created Cuban Evangelical Alliance, the Cuban government's repressive measures continue to quash any defense of religious freedom."