USCIRF Welcomes Release of Wrongfully Imprisoned Religious Leaders and Adherents in Cuba

USCIRF Welcomes Release of Wrongfully Imprisoned Religious Leaders and Adherents in Cuba

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomes the release of Cuban Santería practitioners Donaida Pérez Paseiro and Lisdiani Rodríguez Isaac as well as Christian Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo. The Cuban government had wrongfully imprisoned the three alongside hundreds of peaceful protesters for participating in the July 11, 2021 demonstrations for greater freedom on the island. USCIRF has highlighted their cases in hearings and publications since their arrests in 2021.

“While we are relieved that Donaida, Lisdiani, and Lorenzo have been released, we know that they will continue to face challenges because of their unjust incarceration,” said USCIRF Commissioner Maureen Ferguson. “We stand with them and their families and extend our sincere gratitude to all who tirelessly advocate on their behalf.”

As USCIRF has continuously reported, Cuba’s repressive legal framework harshly punishes religious activities and expressions that the regime perceives to be out of step with its governing ideology. It also arbitrarily denies legal registration to religious organizations that exist outside of regime control such as the Free Yoruba Association of Cuba, and criminalizes membership or association with them. The Cuban Department of State Security, the National Revolutionary Police, and the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, among others, enforce these repressive laws through surveillance, harassment and threats, fines, imprisonments, and torture.

“USCIRF continues to call for the release of all Cuban religious leaders wrongfully imprisoned for participating in the July 11, 2021 protests, such as Loreto Hernández García,” said USCIRF Commissioner Susie Gelman. “We urge the U.S. Department of State to make clear to the Cuban authorities that those who remain wrongfully imprisoned must be released and to remain vigilant to confront any future harassment, intimidation, or detention by the Cuban government.”

In its 2024 annual report, USCIRF recommended that the State Department designate Cuba as a “Country of Particular Concern” for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].