Alondra Santiago. Screenshot from video “Canción de la semana | ¡Salve, oh patria!” (Song of the week | Hail, O Fatherland!) from her YouTube channel IngoEc. Fair use. “Hail, O Fatherland” is Ecuador's national anthem.
In the early hours of June 25, 2024, Cuban journalist Alondra Santiago took to X (formerly Twitter), to share the the notification she received from the Ministry of External Affairs and Human Mobility. The Ministry revoked her visa which had allowed her to live in Ecuadorian territory for 19 years. The notification was signed by Vice Minister Alejandro Dávalos.
The Foreign Ministry warned her that she has five days to return to her country of origin. The ministry made the decision to revoke her visa based on two reports — one from the Ministry of the Interior and the other from the Foreign Ministry — reports unknown to the affected person, as reported by her lawyer to the media.
Santiago described it as an “attack on the freedom of the press/expression.” Furthermore, she warned that she would not remain silent.
Lo que antes fue una noticia falsa, hoy se hizo realidad.
Me llegó notificación de “revocatoria de visa” por parte de Cancillería.Esto es sin duda un atentado a la libertad de prensa/expresión. Este gobierno quiere silenciarme a toda costa pero NO me quedaré en silencio.
Esa… https://t.co/R5BCYQorcA pic.twitter.com/g84PmUhVzm— Alondra Santiago (@cubalondra) June 25, 2024
What was once fake news, today became reality.
I received a notification of “visa revocation” from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.This is undoubtedly an attack on freedom of the press/expression. This government wants to silence me at all costs but I will NOT remain silent.
That…
Alondra Santiago was trending on social media at the end of May for criticizing President Daniel Noboa's government on her YouTube channel, mentioning the lyrics of the Ecuadorian national anthem.
¡Salve, oh patria!
Hace rato no hacía una canción.
Pues ahí les va, mucho que decir, mucho que cantar. pic.twitter.com/pfd7bFc5gM— Alondra Santiago (@cubalondra) May 31, 2024
Hail, oh country!
I haven't made a song in a while.
Well there you go, a lot to say, a lot to sing.
The song goes like this:
Salve oh patria, ¡mil veces!
Oh patria (…)
Se están secuestrando y la delincuencia no para.
Mientras Lavinia a cortar manglares manda (…)
Mientras una madre llora porque su hijo murió.
Verónica Abad no existe para este Gobierno nefasto
Que ha hecho todo lo posible por eliminarla hace rato (…)
Los primeros los hijos del suelo (…)
Hail oh fatherland, a thousand times!
Oh homeland (…)
They are kidnapping and crime does not stop.
While Lavinia orders to cut mangroves (…)
While a mother cries because her son died.
Verónica Abad does not exist for this disastrous government
Which has done everything possible to get rid of her for a long time (…)
The first the children of the soil (…)
The song mentions the high levels of violent death and, while the government has decreed a permanent state of emergency, it has not been able to curb the violence. Moreover, the song criticizes the president's wife, Lavinia Valbonesi, for felling trees in a protected zone in Manglar Alto in the province of Santa Elena, to build a real estate project by the company VINAZIN S.A., of which Valbenosi is the principal shareholder.
Combining the lyrics of the national anthem to criticize the government revived the political dispute between President Noboa and Vice President Verónica Abad, who he decided to send to Israel as an Ambassador of Peace in the middle of a war.
This prompted university professor William Brito to accuse her of slander for using the lyrics of the national anthem to criticize the national government. He then filed a complaint to the Prosecutor's Office.
CIUDADANOS BUSCAN ACCIONES LEGALES CONTRA ALONDRA SANTIAGO
Ciudadanos ecuatorianos denunciando ante la Fiscalía del Guayas el accionar de la extranjera cubana, Alondra Santiago en contra del Himno Nacional. pic.twitter.com/gt71AgcqBT
— El Portal Ec (@ElPortalEcu) June 4, 2024
CITIZENS SEEK LEGAL ACTIONS AGAINST ALONDRA SANTIAGO
Ecuadorian citizens denouncing to the Guayas Prosecutor's Office the actions of the Cuban foreigner, Alondra Santiago, against the National Anthem.
In addition, the journalist was attacked on social networks. Former vice president (1992–1995) Alberto Dahik requested that she be “deported.”
Viene de Cuba donde si abre la boca la meten presa. Le dan visa, y debe decir cuál es su actividad: o estudiante, o trabajo o inversionista. Sin embargo ofende a todo el pueblo ecuatoriano utilizando en forma grotesca el himno nacional para injuriar al país. ¡Depórtenla!
— Alberto Dahik (@alberto_dahik) June 5, 2024
She comes from Cuba where if she opens her mouth they put her in jail. They give her a visa, and she must say what her activity is: either student, or work, or investor. However, she offends all the Ecuadorian people by grotesquely using the national anthem to insult the country. Deport her!
The notification from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility that Santiago shared on social media mentions there is a “report with acts that threaten public security and the structure of the state,” a report that has been classified as “secret.” Her lawyer, Carlos Soria, has mentioned that the Foreign Affairs Ministry will have to prove the basis for revoking the visa in court.
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This post originally appeared on Global Voices.
