Cuba Archive - Case 57

Case ID: 57

Title: N/A

First name: Juan Wilfredo

Last name: Soto García

Suffix: N/A

Aliases: El estudiante (The student)

Name also reported as: N/A

Age: 46

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: N/A

Civil Status: Unknown

Date of death/disappearance: Day:8 / Month:5 / Year:2011

Citizenship: N/A

Last known address: N/A

Last known city: Santa Clara

Last known province-TOD: Villa Clara

Last known province current: Villa Clara

Last known country: Cuba

Location death-address: Arnaldo Milián Castro Hospital

Location of death - city: Santa Clara

Location of death province - at TOD: Villa Clara

Location of death province - current: Villa Clara

Location of death - country: Cuba

Trial held?: No

Docket Number: N/A

Sentence details: N/A

Arrest or detention at time of death: No

Date of arrest: N/A

Imprisoned/Detained: Location: N/A

How long imprisoned/detained: N/A

Death attributed to: Castro regime

Death attribution detail: 4 police agents

Associated Event: N/A

Case description:

Soto was member of a small group of peaceful opponents and Secretary of the Commission to Tend to Political Prisoners of the Central Opposition Coalition. He had served three prison sentences for political causes, the first when he was a 16-year-old high school student charged with sabotage to social property after expressing opposition to the government.  He served two subsequent sentences for "enemy propaganda." He died of a respiratory arrest from a pancreatitis after a brutal beating by four uniformed policemen three days earlier. Witnesses report that Soto was just talking with friends during their regular morning gathering at a local park when a policeman approached only him, asked for his ID, and ordered him to leave. He refused and was handcuffed, beaten, and detained for three hours. His hypertension and diabetes, doctors explained, had complicated his condition when the blows severely damaged his pancreas and caused lesions to the kidneys. The Cuban government denied the beating despite the numerous witnesses. Soto left two children, ages 20 and 14. Opposition groups in Cuba and Amnesty International, among others, called for an investigation. Witnesses and relatives handed evidence over to authorities, but an investigation was not opened. Family members were pressured into silence by authorities.
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Soto era miembro de un pequeño grupo de opositores pacíficos y prestaba ayuda a presos políticos; había cumplido tres penas de prisión por "propaganda enemiga" y otras causas políticas. Había asistido a una reunión matutina que solía sostener en un parque local y estaba hablando con varios amigos cuando un
policía se le acercó, le pidió su identificación y le ordenó que se fuera. Al negarse, fue esposado y brutalmente golpeado por cuatro policías uniformados, que lo llevaron detenido por tres horas. Tres días después murió de una pancreatitis causada por la paliza. Grupos de oposición en Cuba y Amnistía Internacional, entre otros, pidieron una investigación. Testigos y familiares entregaron pruebas a las autoridades, pero no se abrió una investigación y los presionaron para que mantuvieran silencio.

Sources:

Testimony of pastor Mario F. Lleonart Barroso, San Juan, PR, August 15, 2016. Video testimony of pastor, Mario F. Lleonart Barroso, taped May 10, 2011, Hablemos Press, 2011 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V24nPnFHwTs> Reverend Mario Félix Lleonart Barroso, Religion en revolución: Dios desprecia la mentira. 17 mayo 2011.
http://religionrevolucion.blogspot.com/2011/05/dios-desprecia-la-mentira.html.   L. Diversent, Muere opositor por golpiza de la policía, La Habana, 10 mayo 2011, www.cubanet.org.  S. Darlington, Cuba denies dissident beaten by police before death, CNN, May 10, 2011.  J. Tamayo, A pastor says an activist complained of a police beating before he died in Cuba, The Miami Herald, 5/9/2011.  Cuba must investigate beating and death of dissident, Amnesty International, 10 May 2011. Clarinada, Año XXVI, No. 19, Julio 2011.  
Idolidia Darias, Juan Wilfredo Soto García: "a un año de su muerte el crimen permanece impune,&#8221; martinoticias.com, mayo 08, 2012. Efemérides Cubanas, http://www.ueppc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Efem%C3%A9rides-Mayo-2019.pdf. Un día como hoy, Comité Internacional de ex-Presos Políticos Cubanos, e-mail of May 8, 2022.

Conflict of Evidence:

Violation Status: Confirmed with primary source(s)

Cause of Death: - Extrajudicial killing

Occupations: N/A

External Files: N/A

Relatives in Archive: N/A

Victim Type: - Political opponent: member of opposition group

Affiliations: - Comision Atencion a Presos Politicos de la Coalicion Central Opositora

Other Victims Same Event: N/A

Case Record - Juan Wilfredo Soto García