Tag: pastor

Cuban pastor Yordanys Díaz Arteaga.

Into Exile: Yordanys Díaz Arteaga 

Posted on by cswpress in Cuba, Into Exile, Latin America

It is believed that more than 300,000 people have fled Cuba since nationwide protests swept the country on 11 July 2021. Many of them are religious leaders, journalists, human rights defenders and others who were given no choice but to leave the island under intense pressure from the Cuban government. CSW’s Into Exile series tells some of their stories. 

Reverend Yordanys Díaz Arteaga was the pastor of Emmanuel Church, from the Reformed Christian Church of Cuba, a historic denomination with legal registration and a presence in the country since 1943. The denomination was also a member of the Cuban Council of Churches (CIC). Like most other leaders of registered religious groups in Cuba, and especially those in the CIC, Díaz and his denomination enjoyed a degree of religious freedom, provided they line cooperated with and supported the Cuban government. 

The pastor and his family began to experience harassment when the reverend began to question the motivations of his denomination for belonging to the CIC. In mid-2019 he was elected president of the denomination, much to his surprise. With the support of pastors in the denomination, he began to make various internal reforms. These were not to the liking Office of Religious Affairs of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party (ORA) and soon thereafter, he received several warnings. 

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Cuban pastor Yordanys Díaz Arteaga.

Al Exilio: Yordanys Díaz Arteaga 

Posted on by cswpress in Al Exilio, Cuba ES, español, Latin America ES

Se cree que más de 300.000 personas han huido de Cuba desde que las protestas a nivel nacional arrasaron el país el 11 de julio de 2021. Muchos de ellos son líderes religiosos, periodistas, defensores de los derechos humanos y otras personas que no tuvieron más opción que abandonar la isla bajo la intensa presión del gobierno cubano. La serie Al Exilio de CSW cuenta algunas de sus historias. 

El Reverendo Yordanys Díaz Arteaga fue el pastor de la congregación Emmanuel, de la Iglesia Cristiana Reformada de Cuba, histórica denominación con registro legal y presencia en el país desde 1943. La denominación también fue miembro del Consejo de Iglesias de Cuba (CIC). Como la mayoría de los otros líderes de grupos religiosos registrados en Cuba, y especialmente los de la CIC, Díaz y su denominación disfrutaban de cierto grado de libertad religiosa, siempre que cooperaran y apoyaran al gobierno cubano. 

El pastor y su familia empezaron a sufrir acoso cuando el reverendo comenzó a cuestionar las motivaciones de su denominación para pertenecer a la CIC. Y para su sorpresa, a mediados de 2019 fue elegido presidente de la denominación. Con el apoyo de los pastores de su organización, comenzó a hacer varias reformas internas, que no fueron del agrado de la Oficina de Asuntos Religiosos (ORA), y muy pronto comenzó a recibir varias advertencias. 

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Cuban pastor Alaín Toledano Valiente.

Into Exile: Alaín Toledano Valiente

Posted on by cswpress in Cuba, Into Exile, Latin America

It is believed that more than 300,000 people have fled Cuba since nationwide protests swept the country on 11 July 2021. Many of them are religious leaders, journalists, human rights defenders and others who were given no choice but to leave the island under intense pressure from the Cuban government. CSW’s Into Exile series tells some of their stories.

Pastor Alaín Toledano Valiente and his wife, Marilín Alayo Correa, led Emanuel Church, one of the largest churches in terms of attendees in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba for 20 years. As part of the charismatic Protestant Christian network known as the Apostolic Movement, which the government refuses to register, Pastor Toledano, his family and his church were subjected to two decades of intense harassment at the hands of the authorities.

Their church building was demolished on two separate occasions by the government, and Pastor Toledano and his wife were regularly subjected to summonses, interrogations and short term arbitrary detention. Meanwhile, their daughters have been the targets of bullying and violence at school, orchestrated by school officials with the backing of Cuban State Security. In August 2019 he was threatened with imprisonment if his church went ahead with a planned event for women. In October 2021, officials informed him that a criminal case had been prepared against him, meaning he could be arrested and imprisoned at any time. 

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Cuban pastor Alaín Toledano Valiente.

Al Exilio: Alaín Toledano Valiente

Posted on by cswpress in Al Exilio, Cuba ES, español, Latin America ES

Se cree que más de 300.000 personas han huido de Cuba desde que las protestas a nivel nacional arrasaron el país el 11 de julio de 2021. Muchos de ellos son líderes religiosos, periodistas, defensores de los derechos humanos y otras personas que no tuvieron más opción que abandonar la isla bajo la intensa presión de el gobierno cubano. La serie Al Exilio de CSW cuenta algunas de sus historias.

El pastor Alaín Toledano Valiente y su esposa, Marilín Alayo Correa, dirigieron por más de 20 años la Iglesia Emanuel, una de las iglesias con mayor número de asistentes en la oriental ciudad de Santiago de Cuba. Como parte de la carismática red cristiana protestante conocida como Movimiento Apostólico, que el gobierno se niega a registrar, el pastor Toledano, su familia y su iglesia fueron objeto de dos décadas de intenso hostigamiento por parte de las autoridades.

El edificio de su iglesia fue demolido en dos ocasiones distintas por el gobierno, y el pastor Toledano y su esposa fueron constantemente objeto de citaciones, interrogatorios y detenciones arbitrarias breves. Mientras tanto, sus hijas fueron objeto de acoso y violencia en la escuela, orquestados por funcionarios escolares con el respaldo de la Seguridad del Estado cubano. En agosto de 2019 Toledano fue amenazado con encarcelarlo si su iglesia seguía adelante con un evento planeado para mujeres.  En octubre de 2021, los funcionarios le informaron que estaban preparando un caso penal en su contra, lo que significaba que podía ser arrestado y encarcelado en cualquier momento.

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Cuban pastor Enrique de Jesús Fundora and his wife.

Into Exile: Enrique de Jesús Fundora

Posted on by cswpress in Cuba, Into Exile, Latin America

It is believed that more than 300,000 people have fled Cuba since nationwide protests swept the country on 11 July 2021. Many of them are religious leaders, journalists, human rights defenders and others who were given no choice but to leave the island under intense pressure from the government. CSW’s Into Exile series tells some of their stories.

In 2017, 26-year-old Pastor Enrique de Jesús Fundora and his wife established a ministry they named God Shakes Cuba and the Nations a part of the Apostolic and Prophetic Movement. This immediately made them a target of the government and cost Pastor Fundora his job as a chef in a private restaurant.

In July 2021 Pastor Fundora began to open ‘houses of prayer’ where he met with the relatives of people imprisoned because of their involvement in the 11 July protests, to pray for them and comfort them. In January 2022 Fundora was summoned by State Security, Cuba’s intelligence agency. He was interrogated and accused of holding conspiratorial meetings and of buying water and distributing it to those who had participated in the protests.

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