Nearly 100 protesters arrested in advance of John Kerry's 'open, free walk' in Old Havana

Brett T. | 7:08 PM on August 12, 2015

President Obama, who has confessed to the press how he sometimes gets lonely in that big old White House, once confessed during a visit to Israel that his only wish was to “put on a fake mustache” and chat with real people in a Tel Aviv bar.

Secretary of State John Kerry, who will make history by visiting Cuba this Friday, told Telemundo he has a similar dream.

.@Univision interview today on re-establishment of diplomatic relations w/#Cuba. Looking fwd to Friday’s Havana visit pic.twitter.com/0eMWBGnJzC

— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) August 12, 2015

Kerry to Telemundo: 'I will take an open, free walk in Old Habana'…'I look forward to meeting whoever I meet and listening to them' #Cuba

— Hannah Allam (@HannahAllam) August 12, 2015

Kerry, who will take part in the official re-opening of the United States Embassy in Havana and watch as the American flag is once again raised over Cuban soil, won’t be running into these people during his leisurely stroll.

100+ dissidents/resistance leaders, some wearing #Obama masks, beaten/arrested in #Cuba this weekend @WHAAsstSecty pic.twitter.com/33GjddEdgf

— Jason I Poblete (@JasonPoblete) August 10, 2015

The Independent Journal Review notes that somewhere around 90 activists were arrested Sunday in advance of Kerry’s arrival. Around 40 activists arrested were walking around Havana wearing photocopied Barack Obama masks. Angel Moya, a former political prisoner, said the crackdown on dissidents was Obama’s fault: “That’s why we have this mask on. Because it’s his fault.”