SOUTH CIRCUIT Presents
THE STORY OF A YOUNG CHRISTIAN WOMAN TERESA SAAVEDRA THAT WAS GANG RAPED IN THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE STATE SECURITY POLICE IN SANTA CLARA.

Teresa Saavedra Perez was a happy young woman of Sancti Spiritus City and a good Catholic. Sancti Spiritus was the fourth city founded in Cuba in 1514.

Map of Sancti Spiritus province

Teresa was active in the Catholic Student Association engaged in social work in her community. She was an office worker and a devote Catholic. Her life was dedicated to her work and her social work with the Catholics. Teresa, after Castro and the Communist took over the city of Sancti Spiritus, was harassed immediately because her religious beliefs. The Catholics were targeted from the beginning and without doing anything they became an opposition in the eyes of the regime.

The Church of the Spíritu Saint that has their origin from the foundation of the city

Teresa was active sending clothes and food to the poor farmers in the mountains where guerrillas were operating. It was somebody she knew the one who denounced her to the State Police headquarters of Sancti Spiritus. She was accused of helping the guerrillas. Within two days Teresa was arrested and taken to the State Security Police headquarters in Santa Clara city. She was interrogated during hours under the intense pressure of light reflectors, tortures and insults. After two days the person that denounced appeared in the jail and raped Teresa who was a virgin. After he finished two other policemen came in and also raped her in front of the third one. Teresa was crying and screaming because they bite her body.

One week afterwards Teresa was released because lack of evidence. Once in Sancti Spiritus she was able to denounce to her friends what happened in the jail of Santa Clara. A week after she got back the G2 State Security Police appeared in her home again. Teresa scared of being raped again ran to her room. She spread a bottle of alcohol on her and lighted herself on fire. The fire took her life. Right before she died in the hospital she was able to receive the last rites from father Gratiano who belonged to her congregation. Her funeral was attended by thousands, because the story of what had occurred to her spread around the city.

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