A Toronto photo enthusiast says he spent nearly two weeks in a small dark cell after he was arrested for flying a camera-equipped drone in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolucion -- a mistake he thinks led officials to possibly believe he may be a spy for the U.S. government.
“They would ask me questions like, ‘When was the last time I met with President Obama? Do I talk to him regularly on the phone?’” Chris Hughes told CTV Toronto.
Hughes says his drone was checked by customs officials upon entering the country in late September. He spent two days capturing spectacular overhead views of the Cuban capital without incident.
That changed on the third day when he flew his drone above Revolution Square -- a tourist destination made famous by Fidel Castro’s political rallies and home to a memorial for Che Guevara.
Police allegedly approached Hughes moments into the flight.
“That was the beginning of the nightmare that took 13 days of my life,” he says.
At that point, he thought losing his $2,000 drone was the worst that could happen. The gravity of the situation started to set in when Hughes says he was questioned for 13 hours by police, driven to collect his possessions, and locked in a dark seven-foot by seven-foot cell at a detention facility.
“No lawyer. No judge. No translator. No opportunity to defend myself,” says Hughes.
Back in Canada, Hughes’ friends and family had no idea where he was or if he was okay. He says it took four days after his arrest for a Canadian government official to explain the situation to his family, telling them to prepare for the worst.
“(An) investigation on a short note is 10 days. On a long note you will be here up to two years,” he says the family was told.
Hughes says he was contacted by a representative from the Canadian government after five days in jail - a conversation that didn’t leave with him with much hope.
Global Affairs Canada acknowledged the Canadian Embassy in Havana was engaged with the situation, but did not provide further details due to privacy concerns.
“Consular officials at the Embassy of Canada in Havana, Cuba provided consular services to a Canadian citizen detained. Consular officials were in contact with local authorities to gather additional information,” said spokesperson Austin Jean in an emailed statement.
Hughes says his ordeal ended Wednesday when he was driven to the airport and put on a flight back to Canada. His family was on hand for an emotional reunion at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
“Ultimately, this was my fault for not looking into this deeper,” he says. “Just because I wasn’t stopped at immigration for having this (drone) in my carry on, doesn’t mean that it was allowed.”
