The lack of official transparency prevents us from knowing the true extent of the abuses documented.
14ymedio, Havana, 24 January 2025 — The human rights situation in Cuban prisons was once again highlighted in December 2025. According to the monthly report by the Cuban Prison Documentation Centre (CDPC), an independent organisation based in Mexico, at least 61 human rights violations and the death of one prisoner in state custody were recorded during that month. The data, compiled from testimonies from family members, direct complaints and monitoring of individual cases, confirms the persistence of abuse, medical neglect and arbitrary punishment within the island’s prison system.
The report identifies 48 prisoners affected by these violations, including seven women and 41 men. Although the figure is already alarming, the organisation itself warns that it is an underestimate, due to the lack of access to prisons, surveillance of prisoners and their families, and the criminalisation of any attempt at independent documentation. In this context of opacity, each complaint involves additional risks for those who make it.
Among the most serious cases documented in December are those of Yosvany Rosell García Caso and Leoncio Rodríguez Ponce, who are being held in prisons in the eastern provinces of Holguín and Las Tunas. Both have suffered multiple violations, especially after going on hunger strike to protest against their conditions of detention. Far from addressing their demands or assessing their state of health, the prison authorities chose to transfer them to other prisons, a common practice used as a form of punishment and isolation.
The violations recorded by the NGO are grouped into 30 different categories, revealing the extent of the abuses.
The report also laments the death of Yaciel Antúnez Antúnez, who was being held in the territorial prison for people with HIV in the province of Villa Clara. According to the documentation collected, the death was related to a sustained lack of medication and the absence of timely medical care. This case adds to other deaths that have occurred in recent years in Cuban prisons, many of them associated with untreated chronic diseases, malnutrition or prolonged medical negligence.
The violations recorded by the CDPC are grouped into 30 different categories, revealing the extent of the abuses. The most recurrent were harassment and repression, followed by poor living conditions in prison, denial of medical care, problems with food, restrictions on communication with the outside world, and the use of punishment cells. In practice, these categories overlap and create a systematically degrading environment for prisoners.
Complaints about material living conditions paint a critical picture: insufficient, poorly prepared or rotten food; shortages of drinking water; deteriorated infrastructure; lack of mattresses and bedding; constant presence of rodents and insects; and epidemic outbreaks without effective health control. Far from being exceptional, these conditions are part of everyday prison life and directly affect the physical and mental health of inmates.
The violations recorded in December were documented in 33 prisons and detention centres in 14 provinces of the country and in the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud.
Added to these shortcomings are reprisals against those who report them. The report documents restrictions and surveillance of communications with family members, arbitrary suspensions of calls and visits, transfers to punishment cells, forced transfers to prisons far from the place of residence, and physical abuse by guards. In many cases, threats serve as a deterrent to prevent further complaints and isolate the most active or “problematic” prisoners.
The violations recorded in December were documented in 33 prisons and detention centres in 14 provinces of the country and in the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud, confirming that these are not isolated incidents or problems concentrated in a specific region. The geographical spread of the complaints points to structural failures in the Cuban prison system and a policy of control that prioritises discipline and punishment over basic rights.
The CDPC also emphasises that certain groups are particularly vulnerable within prisons. These include people imprisoned for political reasons, people of African descent and those suffering from chronic illnesses. In many cases, these conditions of vulnerability accumulate, increasing exposure to abuse, medical negligence and arbitrary sanctions.
The organisation insists that the Cuban state’s lack of transparency is a major obstacle to understanding the true extent of what happens behind prison walls. The absence of official statistics, the refusal to allow access to independent observers, and the persecution of activists and family members who denounce abuses prevent effective oversight and encourage impunity.
Translated by GH
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