January 10 , 2001
HAVANA, January 8 (Ricardo González Alfonso) - A dissident group distributed inexpensive toys to children on the streets of Havana on Saturday, in spite of its leader’s arrest the evening before.
Members of the Civic January 6th Movement distributed the toys in an effort to revive the celebration of the day of the three Wise Kings, one of the most important holidays on the Cuban calendar before the 1959 Revolution.
The group’s leader, Bárbaro Antonio Vela Crego, was arrested by agents of the Department of State Security Friday evening and held for six hours. While under arrest, the agents threatened to charge Vela with "inciting to delinquency," arguing that Vela subtly influences some sectors of the population.
Last year, journalist Víctor Rolando Arroyo was arrested for participating in a similar toy distribution scheme. Arroyo was sentenced to six months in jail on trumped-up charges of hoarding.
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