According to Prisoners Defenders, 28 new cases were recorded in May.
EP (via 14ymedio), Madrid, June 11, 2026 / The number of political prisoners in Cuba reached a new record of 1,281 in May, according to the count by the organization Prisoners Defenders, which warns that this figure is only “the tip of the iceberg of the misfortune” in which the Island and its inhabitants are immersed and highlights the wave of repression being carried out by the regime of Miguel Díaz-Canel.
According to this organization, during the month of May, 28 new cases of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience were recorded, many of them related to protests over blackouts, lack of water, food shortages and the extreme deterioration of living conditions on the island.
“Cuba reached a new record in May, which is only the tip of the iceberg of the misfortune that Cubans are experiencing,” denounced the president of Prisoners Defenders, Javier Larrondo, warning that “the international community cannot continue to look the other way.”
Javier Larrondo, warning that “the international community cannot continue to look the other way”
“While the country has been sinking into an unprecedented crisis since 2021, marked by blackouts, hunger, lack of water and the collapse of all basic services, the regime’s response has been to imprison, persecute and sow terror,” he lamented, stressing that “state terrorism has become the only policy practiced” by the Díaz-Canel regime “to maintain power.”
According to Larrondo, “among the new cases are women activists, citizens who denounced the situation on social media, and people arrested after peaceful protests.” The NGO’s latest report also includes “minors imprisoned in adult prisons and victims of torture, ill-treatment, and denial of medical care.”
In this regard, Prisoners Defenders has denounced the death in custody of Ernesto Brieva Sempé, who was arrested in connection with the protests of July 11, 2021, and died on May 13 after years of imprisonment, chronic kidney disease, malnutrition, and a lack of adequate medical care. His death brings the number of political prisoners who have died in the custody or under the direct responsibility of the regime since 2023 to six.
The organization’s president stressed that “these are not isolated cases; they are the result of a systematic policy of neglect, punishment, and dehumanization.”
Furthermore, he drew attention to the fact that there are 449 seriously ill political prisoners and another 52 with severe mental health disorders who are not receiving medical attention in Cuban prisons. “Every day they remain imprisoned increases the risk of further deaths,” he warned.
Furthermore, Prisoners Defenders has questioned the “alleged pardon of 2,010 prisoners” announced by the regime on May 25, after analyzing the list and finding that only one political prisoner has been released, emphasizing that it was nothing more than “another propaganda operation.” The other political prisoner included in the pardon remains incarcerated.
“Cuba is experiencing the biggest wave of repression in recent decades, and thousands of families continue to pay the price for demanding a dignified life, freedom, and fundamental rights,” Larrondo emphasized.
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