Blanco at the Headquarter of the Bean Auto Group

Anyer Antonio Blanco (born July 28, 1987) is a Cuban dissident, whose anti-regime activities are based in his hometown of Santiago. He served six years as a self-described political prisoner in Cuban jails until his release in 2012. Blanco is one of the few users of Twitter in Cuba. Havana-based fellow dissident

Yoani Sánchez Yoani María Sánchez Cordero (born September 4, 1975) is a Cuban blogger who has achieved international fame and multiple international awards for her critical portrayal of life in Cuba under its current government. Sánchez attended primary ...

's Twitter account has been "certified" and who constantly tweets and uploads videos from within Cuba against the regime, activity which has been recognized outside Cuba.

Biography

Early life and imprisonment

Born in 1987 in Santiago, he was sentenced to six years in jail after an illegal attempt to leave the country. While in prison, he survived two self-imposed hunger strikes. Dissident groups demonstrated near his prison while he was on hunger strike. Karen Caballero of

Radio y Televisión Martí Radio Televisión Martí is an American state-run radio and television international broadcaster based in Miami, Florida, financed by the federal government of the United States through the U.S. Agency for Global Media (formerly Broadcasting Boar ...

described him as one of the highest profile Cuban dissidents at this time. Pro-Cuban regime bloggers single him out and criticize his activities and he has been described by one as "the most promising young man in the internal counterrevolutionary movement" in Cuba. These bloggers follow and describe in detail Anyer Antonio Blanco's extensive travels throughout the world.

Post-imprisonment activity

In June 2013, Blanco, National Youth Coordinator for the Cuban Patriotic Union (UNPACU), met with former Polish President Lech Walesa in Warsaw and in October of that year was invited by the Vaclav Havel Institute to speak about democracy-building in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In October 2014, Blanco participated in the Rising Star Program sponsored by International Republican Institute held in Prague, Czech Republic. He also represented UNPACU at the World Movement for Democracy 8th Assembly held in Seoul, Korea in 2015, and represented UNPACU at the Organization of American States (OAS) meeting held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in June, 2016. He has also traveled several times to the United States, including the nation's capital, the Miami, Florida area and San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he now spends several months of the year studying as a senior at Sacred Heart University, when not residing in Santiago de Cuba. During his travels, he has met with several prominent figures, including Walesa, U.S. representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Mario Díaz-Balart, Pedro Pierluisi and

Joe García José Antonio Garcia Jr. (born October 12, 1963), known as Joe Garcia, is an American attorney and politician. Garcia represented in the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2015. A Democrat, Garcia represented most of western Miami-Dade Cou ...

, Obama administration official Ben Rhodes, former representative Lincoln Díaz-Balart, former Puerto Rico Secretaries of State David Bernier and

Kenneth McClintock Kenneth Davison McClintock-Hernández (born January 19, 1957) is a politician who served as the twenty-second Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, one of the four longest serving in that post. McClintock served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s Na ...

. During the civil unrest in several Venezuelan cities in February 2014, pro-Castro bloggers identified Yoani Sánchez, former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe, UNPACU leader

Jose Daniel Ferrer Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean ...

and Anyer Blanco as being allies of Venezuelan dissidents. Mr. Blanco adopted a moderate response to the first steps to reestablish diplomatic relations with Cuba announced by U.S. President Barack Obama on December 17, 2014, in keeping with UNPACU's policy.

References

Sources

http://blogsdecuba.impela.net/2013/10/entrevista-a-anyer-antonio-blanco-miembro-de-unpacu-despues-de-haber-regresado-de-una-gira-por-algunos-paises-libres-y-democraticos/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanco, Anyer Antonio Living people 1987 births Cuban dissidents Political prisoners in Cuba People from Santiago de Cuba Cuban activists