The US denounces the arrest of activists of the Ladies in White in Cuba

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(CNN Spanish) --

The United States Embassy in Cuba denounced this Sunday on Twitter the arrest of several activists from the opposition group Ladies in White, who were on their way to the "church to pray peacefully for the protesters" arrested on July 11, when the island experienced historic demonstrations against the government of President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

"The regime should stop harassing activists and concerned mothers. We ask for their immediate release and we support them and all political prisoners in Cuba," the diplomatic representation wrote in another message.

"The Cuban regime is prosecuting young #11 protesters in a discriminatory manner, robbing them of their future by jailing them on bogus charges such as sedition. Charges against young protesters must be dropped," he added in another tweet, though he did not elaborate on this. accusation.

The complaints of arrests of Ladies in White emerged this Sunday on social networks.

According to activists, several plainclothes "state security" agents have detained the activists, including the movement's leader, Berta Soler.

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CNN has not been able to contact Soler, has not received a response from the activists who denounced the arrests and has not yet obtained any comments from the Cuban government, which was asked for information about the reports of arrests through its consulate in Washington.

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Last Friday, Soler had announced on social networks that the group would activate this Sunday a "confrontation campaign for the freedom of all political prisoners without exclusion."

Soler explained on Facebook that the Ladies in White would visit some churches to pray for the release of the detainees and would also speak out in the streets.

If these arrests of the Ladies in White - a group formed in 2003 by wives of dissidents, activists, social communicators and other opposition leaders who were sentenced to prison that year - are confirmed, it would be a new episode of repression against activists since 9/11. of July.

Cuban police arrested at least 11 people on November 15, while government agents and supporters "besieged" another 50 inside their homes to prevent opposition protests planned for that day from taking place, according to the report. The independent human rights organization Cubalex, based in Havana, told CNN then.

Valentina González Galvis collaborated in this report.

Cuba