That time the dean sold me to State Security

AREQUIPA, Peru – Not even university students are safe from the scrutiny and harassment of State Security in Cuba. One minute you can enter through the door of the Faculty of Communication, and the next, literally, be harassed by agents of the Castro dictatorship in total complicity with the dean’s office.

The previous situation is not hypothetical, but testimonial, and becomes especially relevant this week, when the 65th anniversary of the State Security Organs, the main repressive system of Cubans, is commemorated on the Island.

The congress

It happened in 2015, when I was finishing my journalism degree at the University of Havana (UH). One afternoon, while talking with a colleague who had already graduated, he commented that the International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) was about to take place.

Founded in 1966, LASA is a prestigious organization with thousands of members around the world, mainly academics specialized in Latin American studies, as its name indicates.

On that occasion, the Congress was in Puerto Rico and participating was a challenge (especially for a student), but also opportunities, improvement and academic experience.

So, upon acquiring membership in the association, I sent my proposal for the event, a panel on alternative sources of information on the Island or, in other words, how did the Package of the Week emerge and become popular, with which it is still popular? Do Cubans update and entertain?

It wasn’t long before I received a notification from LASA accepting my participation. Although that was a moment of personal fulfillment, the news gave rise to a question as important as the invitation itself: How to get to Puerto Rico?

The protocol in these cases included contacting Milagros, who from the UH management was in charge of nuclear and guiding the country’s academics who had been selected for the event.

Milagros then told me that my case was special. He was the first student from Cuba to be invited to Congress. That sounded nice, but really his intention was to inform me that, since there was no precedent, there was no protocol created for student trips either. I would need a letter from my dean endorsing the process.

An endearing character

The dean of the Faculty of Communication at that time, Raúl Garcés, was a man who moved with intention, he walked through the hallways always in a hurry, busy, like someone pursuing something.

We never had more interaction than those moments of stumbling on a staircase or greeting each other in a living room. However, she had a half-stooped, almost shy posture, a warm voice. For some reason he seemed like an endearing character to me.

When I told him about my situation, the dean was leaning over a table in a classroom, staring unblinkingly at the floor. When I looked up, he told me that he would find out about the matter.

His eventual response resulted in a refusal, justified with the same argument of lack of antecedents. Since the reply did not convince me, I tried to appeal via email to the higher authority, the rector of the university.

The next time I heard from Garcés was in a phone call, in which he summoned me to his office at 9:00 in the morning. Although he did not detail the reasons, he sensed that it was to discuss the issue of the LASA Congress.

I tried to be punctual. I arrived at the faculty early and went directly to the dean’s office. He greeted me with a handshake and a gesture pointing to a door.

The ambush

I entered a large office, with a large table and several chairs. About three people were waiting for me, only one of whom I knew. Armando Franco, then president of the University Student Federation (FEU), occupied a position between two other mature men.

From my rear Garcés introduced the individuals, State Security agents. One of them, with a frown, introduced himself as Lázaro and without further ado, the dean closed the door.

Of course that turn of events left me a little disoriented. I couldn’t understand why I was there, or how that meeting would be related to my participation in the Congress or the topic of my research.

What came next was an interrogation similar to those that have already emerged within the Island from the mouths of opponents and activists. They asked incisively about personal and even intimate matters, joining LASA and future prospects.

Towards the end, they said that “unfortunately” they would not be able to attend the event that year. However, “given my interest,” they wanted to make me a proposal. According to the agents, an upcoming Congress was going to be held in New York, where “important things could happen” and they would help me participate if I worked with them.

The exchange lasted about 10 minutes and ended when I rejected the offer. At all times Armando, from the FEU, maintained a position of silent witness. When leaving the room, Garcés was outside, but he didn’t say much either. Of course, he mentioned that writing to the rector was useless. His decision was not going to change, because they were friends.

Beyond the discomfort and traumatic, that episode seemed surreal. How does a student end up arbitrarily cornered by the repressors of a regime? How does an academic triumph, far from being a source of pride for an alma mater, become an affront? Aren’t deans the ones who should ensure the safety and well-being of students? How was this hearing arranged? Who called who? What role did the FEU have in that whole incident? The sleaze.

Today Raúl Garcés is no longer dean of the Faculty of Communication, but rather part of the team that represents Cuba at the United Nations. For his part, Armando Franco became a director at the state magazine Alma Mater.

Even though I was aware that I had not done anything wrong or illegal, after that unpleasant event I was haunted for a few months by a nervous and insecure feeling. I never got to go to a LASA Congress, nor was I able to see the university with the same veil of harmlessness.

Nine years have passed and this Tuesday in the Universal Chamber of the Armed Forces (FAR), the dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel highlighted that the Cuban people “admire” the State Security body.

“The history of the State Security Organs is the most fascinating, inspiring and patriotic that can be found in the history of Cuba,” he assured.

Follow our channel WhatsApp. Receive information from CubaNet on your cell phone through Telegram.