Cuban authorities have taken 10 Panamanian nationals into custody, accusing them of producing anti-government propaganda materials on Saturday, according to the country’s Interior Ministry.
Officials claim the detainees were hired by unidentified sponsors who promised payment in exchange for traveling to Cuba to create what authorities describe as subversive messaging.
The detentions come just days after Cuban officials reported another alleged infiltration attempt, where armed Cuban exiles attempted to enter the country via speedboat. That incident resulted in a deadly confrontation at sea, leaving four attackers dead and six others wounded and in Cuban custody.
These incidents unfold as Cuba faces significant economic and energy challenges, with U.S. sanctions creating what officials describe as an oil embargo that has worsened fuel shortages and power outages across the island nation.
According to the Interior Ministry’s statement, the Panamanian citizens face charges for “acts of propaganda against the Cuban constitutional order.” Cuban law imposes sentences of three to eight years for “inciting against social order, international solidarity, or the socialist state,” and prohibits creating, distributing, or possessing such materials in any form.
Ministry officials say the detained individuals confessed they had been “instructed to enter Cuba to create signs with subversive content.”
“Once this objective was achieved, they were to leave the country and, upon their return to Panama, would receive a sum of money that, according to their initial statements, ranged between $1,000 and $1,500 each,” the Interior Ministry said.
Panama’s embassy in Havana has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the arrests.
These restrictions on free expression have long been cited by Cuban exiles as justification for maintaining U.S. economic sanctions against Cuba’s Communist leadership.
