As reported by Radio Television Marti on 2 February 2022, the pastor of Emmanuel Church in La Havana and president of Reformed Church of Cuba, Yordanys Diaz Arteaga, was
arrested after a raid by police on his home on 1 February. During the raid, the police confiscated electronic devices, mobile phones and other items of church property. According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, the pastor was released next day but put under
house arrest along with his family and denied any form of communication with others; he is being accused of "receiving illegal goods" (CSW, 2 February 2022).
World Watch Research analyst Rossana Ramirez comments: "Since 2020, when the Reformed Church chose to withdraw from the Cuban Council of Churches (CCC), and after supporting protesters in 2021, Pastor Diaz Arteaga has experienced various forms of government intimidation. Even though the Reformed Church of Cuba is one of the oldest registered denominations in the country, it still has to face the same sort of oppression as other churches when it goes against the interests of the regime and carries out social projects. In this case, pullovers and calendars with Bible verses donated to prisoners was a enough to provoke such harassment.
Rossana Ramirez continues: "It is particularly concerning that despite
international protests about conditions for the 700 Cubans still under arrest for taking part in the July 2021 demonstrations, there are no signs of any positive steps being taken by the regime (OAS Press Release, 16 February 2022). On the contrary, as documented in WWR"s
Full Country Dossier on Cuba (January 2021), reprisals such as those taken against Pastor Diaz Arteaga, show that the Cuban authorities are determined to maintain their high level of hostility towards anyone not aligning with state ideology and to keep them in isolation."
