Source: www.csw.org.uk
Date: November 14, 2026
In recent weeks, the Cuban authorities have made a significant crackdown on a range of Christian leaders, influencers, activists, and church members.
We stand with them today in prayer, drawing on the words of Psalm 109:
‘Help me, Lord my God; save me according to your unfailing love. Let them know that it is your hand, that you, Lord, have done it.’
Anthony Martínez is a digital content creator and a member of the Assemblies of God Church in the city of San Antonio de los Baños, Artemisa Province.
On 6 November, he complied with a summons from the National Revolutionary Police. This was the third summons he had received in three weeks. Anthony was detained before being released the next day.
Meanwhile, several Protestant leaders had accompanied Anthony to the police station. At least five were detained, and some faced inhumane treatment. Below are some of the leaders you can pray for by name.
- Eduardo Regalado Guerrero is a worship leader and youth leader at the Second Baptist Church. This is part of the Baptist Convention of Western Cuba – a registered denomination – in Alamar, Havana.
- Alfredo Fominaya is a Christian influencer and youth leader at the Assemblies of God Church in Central Havana – again, part of a registered denomination.
Alfredo was held for 12 hours, during which he was stripped naked and forced to do several squats. He was then explicitly warned by State Security agents not to accompany anyone else complying with an official summons in the future.
- Pastor Rolando Pérez Lora – an independent church leader – was also detained, and not for the first time. (He was previously detained in March and September this year.)
State Security agents intentionally broke Pastor Pérez Lora’s mobile phone before leaving him in the province of Las Tunas – around 650km away from his home in Havana. Alfredo and Eduardo were also taken to other parts of the country and dropped off.
- Sergio Luis Serrano Pimentel is a chaplain of the legally-recognised Open Bible Church in Guanajay, Artemisa. He was issued with an Acta de Advertencia – a kind of pre-arrest warrant for future crimes – for allegedly inciting civil unrest against the Cuban Revolution.
Among the Christian influencers targeted on the same day was Karel Daniel Hernández Bosques. He was summoned for interview in Havana and detained for 12 hours. Karel Daniel is part of a group of content creators who are openly critical of the Cuban regime, known as Fuera de la Caja (Outside the Box).
We pray, too, for Las Damas de Blanco (The Ladies in White) – a peaceful movement made up of women whose husbands and other family members are held as political prisoners.
Berta Soler Fernández (a founding member) and María Cristina Labrada Varona were violently detained on the morning of 5 November while on their way to Mass.
The State Security agents reportedly pulled Berta by the hair, before leaving her in a patrol car in the sun with the windows shut and radio turned up high.
Both women were released around 6pm. But Berta was detained again on 7 November and held for 48 hours without charge. This was after she joined a peaceful protest in her neighbourhood about the absence of water services.
We are alarmed at this recent wave of detentions and summonses – targeting religious leaders, church members, and others who bravely speak out about the reality they see around them in Cuba.
Thank you for standing with them.
‘Help me, Lord my God; save me according to your unfailing love. Let them know that it is your hand, that you, Lord, have done it.’
Psalm 109:26-27