{"id":8087,"date":"2023-05-16T21:33:47","date_gmt":"2023-05-16T21:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/?p=8087"},"modified":"2023-05-16T21:33:56","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T21:33:56","slug":"members-of-youth-delegation-to-cuba-detained-on-return-to-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/members-of-youth-delegation-to-cuba-detained-on-return-to-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Members of youth delegation to Cuba detained on return to US"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

150 young leaders from the United States took part in a 10-day delegation to Cuba to exchange and learn from the Cuban people. On their return, many of them were detained at US airports and their devices were searched<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, May 3, several members of various organizations in the US, who had traveled to Cuba as part of an international youth delegation, were detained and harassed by US authorities during their return to the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The People\u2019s Forum, one of the organizations that participated in the 10-day solidarity brigade organized by the International Peoples\u2019 Assembly, condemned the harassment faced by delegation members at US airports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cURGENT! Today multiple members of our youth delegation to Cuba were detained and held for hours by the US Customs & Border Patrol after returning. Despite having traveled legally, we\u2019ve been harassed and held in Secondary Questioning on arrival at the Miami International Airport and the Newark Liberty International Airport,\u201d wrote<\/a> the People\u2019s Forum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said that the mobile phones of several delegates were wrongfully searched and seized by the CBP officials. \u201cThis outrageous behavior seeks to intimidate us and criminalize our right to travel and exchange. We demand the release of our remaining comrades! We will not be moved! Our commitment to end the US Blockade of Cuba will only grow,\u201d the Forum emphasized<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manolo De Los Santos, co-executive director of The People\u2019s Forum and an organizer of the delegation, also condemned these actions. \u201cOver 150 youth travel to Cuba to learn and are welcomed back in the US with detention, political questioning and the seizing of phones. Which country is the police state?\u201d questioned<\/a> De Los Santos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon learning about the harassment, Cuban President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel expressed Cuba\u2019s solidarity with the members of the US delegation. \u201cCheer up guys, We\u2019re with you. Thank you for your courage, for supporting Cuba and for facing the hatred of those who cannot stand the fact that the Cuban Revolution has the support of the most progressive youth in the belly of the beast. We send you a big hug,\u201d wrote D\u00edaz-Canel in a tweet<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cuban organizations and media personalities also expressed outrage following the politically motivated detentions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center which participated in several of the brigade\u2019s activities wrote, \u201cAs CMLK, we denounce the harassment which the hundred young people, \u2018ambassadors of peace\u2019 are being subjected to and we reject the injustices suffered in this moment by those who embrace and sustain solidarity amongst the people as the only alternative to capitalism. We denounce these acts of abuse towards good people. Young people who desire and dream of a better future full of hope to transform what is imposed on us as \u2018impossible.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cuban social media influencer, El Necio,<\/em> highlighted<\/a> the hypocritical nature of the detentions and wrote, \u201cWe only have one question: where is the freedom?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The continental platform of social movements, ALBA Movimientos, joined in the condemnation stating<\/a>, \u201cThey have shown once again that they cannot tolerate that there are people that from the belly of the beast [who] support the Cuban revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday morning, De Los Santos reported that \u201call the comrades who traveled to Cuba are FREE,\u201d and once again condemned the US authorities for intimidating the young delegation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe aggressive attitude of the Customs & Border Patrol officials towards the members of our delegation during their return to the United States is reprehensible. The seizure of phones and the political nature of interrogation in secondary questioning imply a level of harassment not seen in years. It was a clear effort to intimidate young people who exercised their right to travel and learn. This attempt to deter us from being in solidarity with Cuba will fail,\u201d said<\/a> Santos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe affirm our right to travel and exchange with the Cuban people, and now more than ever it is our duty to stand with them to break the US Blockade. These unfortunate incidents are further evidence of the wrong direction of a hostile US foreign policy towards Cuba. Their actions in fact demonstrate that the US is far from a bastion of democracy and human rights, and rather than intimidate us, they motivate us to strengthen our struggles for true, transformative change here in the United States,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over 150 young leaders from a variety of organizations in the US went to Cuba to participate in a meeting with different sectors of Cuban society and learn about the impact of the US blockade and experiences in building socialism. These meetings were held in Havana between April 24 and May 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

150 young leaders from the United States took part in a 10-day delegation to Cuba to exchange and learn from the Cuban people. On their return, many of them were detained at US airports and their devices were searched<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101011,"featured_media":8089,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8062,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/over-150-youth-leaders-from-the-us-will-travel-to-cuba-for-international-workers-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":8087,"position":0},"title":"Over 150 youth leaders from the US will travel to Cuba for International Workers\u2019 Day","author":"Editorial Team","date":"April 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"While reactionary legislators in the US want to enshrine Cuba\u2019s membership on the politicized \u201cState Sponsors of Terrorism\u201d list\u00a0into law, people in the US have a different view of Cuba. 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