Cuban government agents, including state security and Cuban Communist Party offi-cials, destroyed the home of Pastor Esmir Torreblanca in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba on July 2.
The unannounced demolition began at 6 am while the pastor, who is a leader in the church, his wife and their young children, aged two and seven, were sleeping inside. They are now homeless.
Pastor Marcos A. Perdomo Silva, who leads the Establishing the Kingdom of God Church, told the blog Religión en Revolución: ‘They arrived and violently broke down the front door which was locked. The police entered with batons alongside a group of men carrying machetes. They began to destroy and occupy the properties of the pastor and the church.’
The church was threatened with confiscation and demolition in March this year, but local officials appeared to back down after the case received international attention. The house church is affiliated with the Apostolic Movement, a fast growing network of churches which the government has refused to register.
In 2010, a government official told a group of religious leaders that her office was working to eradicate the Apostolic Movement.
