Man detained for four days in Cuba over spray without family notification
Santiago de Cuba Police held Daiver Méndez Galiano in custody for four days without informing his relatives of his whereabouts. His family located him at a police station after searching hospitals and police facilities.
Four days without communication: family searches for young man detained in Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba Police held Daiver Méndez Galiano, 32, in custody for four days without notifying his family of his whereabouts, according to a complaint from his relatives after finding him on Tuesday 10 November at the police station known as La Motorizada. According to infobae.com citing CiberCuba, the arrest appeared to be linked to a paint spray whose nature the authorities described in contradictory ways.
Méndez Galiano had disappeared from his family's sight in the early morning of 6 November, after getting out of a vehicle at Plaza Antonio Maceo and heading from Micro 9 towards the city centre. His telephone had remained switched off since then.
The search by his relatives included the Provincial Hospital and the Clínico Quirúrgico, as well as several police stations, but no authority provided information about his possible whereabouts. A family member stated that the authorities did not notify anyone of the arrest and did not respond when inquiries began. The young man's name did not appear in the records system consulted through an acquainted police officer.
Independent communicator Yosmany Mayeta Labrada issued an alert on Monday requesting public assistance in locating the young man. The following day he reported that Méndez Galiano was in custody at La Motorizada.
The first explanation that his relatives received was that a patrol had detained him for carrying pepper spray, which he allegedly used to protect himself against possible assaults. Officers also confiscated his telephone, which would have prevented any communication with his family.
Shortly afterwards, the police offered a different version. According to Mayeta Labrada's account, they indicated that the object was not pepper spray but aerosol paint, and suggested that it could be used to make anti-government posters. The communicator questioned that hypothesis: Méndez Galiano works independently in the manufacture of beds and mattresses, an activity for which he uses aerosol paint.
His relatives began proceedings to obtain bail for the young man, though as of the last available update his release had not been confirmed.
Article 347 of Cuba's Law 143 on Criminal Procedure establishes that authorities must inform an arrested person of the reasons for their detention, and that within the first 24 hours they must be given communication with a family member or another person to inform them of their legal situation. If it is confirmed that Méndez Galiano went four days without contact with his family, the case raises questions about the application of that procedure.
The complaint adds to previous cases documented in Cuba. In January 2024, the relatives of Adriel Ruiz Benítez complained that authorities recommended they wait despite weeks without knowing his whereabouts, and also claimed to have received contradictory information during that search.
Source: Google News CU — Crime