For immediate release

March 23, 2017

The Libertarian National Committee of the United States condemns the arrest and detention of political dissidents Ubaldo Herrera Hernandez and Manuel Velazquez, who have been detained by the Cuban government since their arrest on February 2.

Both men were targeted for peacefully promoting small government, civil liberties, and free markets, for which they occasionally distributed flyers and put up posters.

Hernandez and Velazquez are members of Mises Cuba, an independent think tank which is based on the Ludwig von Mises Institute of Auburn, Alabama.

Mises Cuba has confirmed the activists’ ongoing detention.

“Hernandez and Velazquez are political prisoners whose actions have harmed no one and damaged no property,” said Nicholas Sarwark, Chair of the Libertarian National Committee. “We stand in solidarity with our fellow freedom fighters in Cuba.”

The Libertarian National Committee passed a resolution asserting that the activists’ arrest and detention “illustrate the threats to freedom we all face around the world.”

It further states:

“The Libertarian Party calls on the Cuban government to immediately release details of the above-mentioned arrests and detentions, including the specific charges being levied against the individuals in question. In the absence of such information, we call for the release of these prisoners.

“Libertarian activism worldwide must not be deterred by the attempts of authoritarian leaders, totalitarian governments, and dictatorial regimes to silence the voice of freedom. We condemn any acts of official oppression, and uphold the promotion of limited government and free markets in any country. Furthermore, we call on the U.S. Department of State to publicly denounce violations of the right to free speech, the right to peaceably assemble, and the right to due process abroad.”

For more information about this story:

Report: Arrested Mises Cuba Member Charged with “Distributing Enemy Propaganda”

Cuban libertarian activists sent to the gulag