Ecuador Revokes Visa of Cuban Journalist Alleging Acts Against State Security

Journalist Alondra Santiago, June 24, 2024. Photo: X/ @WRadioec

June 25, 2024 Hour: 11:42 am

‘The government wants to silence me at all costs, but I will not stay silent,’ Alondra Santiago said

On Monday, the government of President Daniel Noboa revoked the visa of Cuban journalist Alondra Santiago, arguing that she allegedly committed acts “against the security and structure of the State.”

“What was once fake news has now become reality. I received a notification of visa revocation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Santiago wrote on her social media account on X.

“This is undoubtedly an attack on press and expression freedoms. This government wants to silence me at all costs, but I will not stay silent. That has never been an option,” she added.

“In the face of abuse and excessive power, justice will put a stop to this arbitrariness,” said the Cuban journalist, who immediately received widespread support through social media.

Recuerdo el último diálogo que mantuve con @cubalondra en Ingobernable, donde hablamos sobre la realidad ecuatoriana y el profundo conocimiento y cariño que siente por Ecuador, un país que ha hecho suyo de manera conmovedora. Rechazo el vergonzoso acto perpetrado por el gobierno… pic.twitter.com/pnR4Vo1fAx
— Leonidas Iza Salazar (@LeonidasIzaSal1) June 25, 2024

Indigenous Leader Leonidas Iza’s text reads, “I remember the last dialogue I had with Alondra Santiago in the program ‘Ingovernable,’ in which we talked about the Ecuadorian reality and the deep knowledge and affection she feels for Ecuador, a country that she has made her own in a moving way. I reject the shameful act perpetrated by the administration of the arrogant Daniel Noboa against Alondra Santiago, which constitutes an attack on freedom of mobility and freedom of expression. It is necessary to leave our plots of power to rebuild the homeland with the people from below. Our solidarity with Alondra. In our communities, she is always welcome.“

“What can we expect in a country whose government seeks to silence its critics? Do they want to silence those who think differently? Where is democracy?” said Andean Parliamentarian Cristina Reyes, who called the Ecuadorian government’s decision a “xenophobic and authoritarian act that attacks journalism and freedom of expression.”

“It is outrageous that journalists are being persecuted with the complicity of the ministries… All this while the country is directionless and crime operates with total impunity,” she added.

In early June, something similar happened with a political analysis program titled ‘The Irreverent,’ which had to go off the air due to pressure from the Noboa administration, recalled journalist Maria Sol Borja.

“This is madness. They revoke Alondra Santiago’s visa and accuse her of committing ‘acts that threaten public security and the structure of the state,'” said Borja, emphasizing that what happened to the Cuban journalist is a “brutal abuse of power.”

Alondra Santiago is a 33-year-old journalist who has been living in Ecuador for almost 20 years. Throughout her professional practice in the Andean country, she has been known for her closeness to progressive political stances and her criticism of right-wing governments.