Cuban police try gas to stop Antúnez

Like the band of Nazi wannabes that it is, the Castro dictatorship has taken its fight with Cuban dissident Jorge Luis García Pérez (Antúnez) to a new, more frightening level.

Cuban Democratic Directorate has the details:

The home of former political prisoner and leading opposition activist Jorge Luis García Pérez, better known as “Antúnez,” was attacked in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday March 25th by State Security agents. Antúnez and several other activists staying with him have been engaged in a protest involving weeks-long hunger strikes and fasts since February 17th.

“At around 2:30 in the morning, we were awoken by fasting activists Carlos Michael Morales, Diosiris Santana Pérez and Ernesto Mederos Arrozarena who alerted us that State Security officers were releasing gas inside the home. (Antúnez's wife) Iris and I were in a room in the back of the home. When we went to the living room, I smelled a strong odor of gas and felt myself become short of breath. When Iris Tamara Pérez Aguilera tried to communicate with Santa Claran activist Idania Yánez Contreras, we spotted the Chief of the Confrontation Unit Idel, better known as “Railroad Spike,” training a flashlight on Iris through the blinds and carrying a strange device in his other hand shaped like a spray bottle. Activist Ernesto Mederos Arrozarena relates that he felt how they sprayed through the window to release the gas,” stated Antúnez in a telephone statement to the Cuban Democratic Directorate.

According to Antúnez, this is not the only repressive measure being taken against the protestors. Later the same morning, the exterior surfaces of the home were defaced with obscene phrases painted on in tar and on signs.

“We hold the high command of State Security here in Villa Clara responsible for these attempts on our lives and physical wellbeing. Remember that here among us activists there are people who suffer from heart conditions, as in my case, people who suffer from serious respiratory problems, and they are making attempts on our lives,” stated Antúnez.

According to Antúnez's report, the operation against the protesters is being led by a specialist brought in from Havana.

Read the rest of the Directorate's news releasehere.