New Detention Reported for Cuban Academic and Dissident Alina Bárbara López

Alina Bárbara López Hernández, a Cuban academic and dissident, was detained in Matanzas while attempting to exercise her right to peaceful protest on the 18th of each month. Her daughter, Cecilia Borroto López, confirmed the arrest, stating her mother was taken to a police station.

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Alina has just been detained in Libertad Park while trying to exercise her right to peaceful protest.

Prior to her detention, López had publicly shared her views on the economic reforms recently approved by the Communist Party of Cuba. She described the proposals, which aim for economic liberalization and decentralization amid a deep crisis, as an old stratagem to buy time. López believes these measures are largely the same as those proposed and not implemented nineteen years ago, referring to Raúl Castro's 2007 economic update.

This is not the first time López has faced detention for her activism. She has been arrested multiple times for symbolic protests. In late 2023, she was convicted of disobedience and ordered to pay a fine, which she refused. Additionally, she is awaiting trial for charges of disobedience, contempt, and assault stemming from a previous arrest on June 18, 2024. The prosecution is seeking a four-year correctional labor sentence.

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They are trying to buy time. That is an old stratagem of the power group.

During the 2024 incident, López and fellow academic Jenny Pantoja were reportedly traveling to a protest event when they were detained. López claims she was subjected to violence by a police officer when questioning the legality and reasons for her arrest. The prosecution, however, maintains that López and Pantoja resisted and insulted officers, and that their alleged physical injuries were not real.

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It's more or less the same as what was proposed but not implemented nineteen years ago.