Cuban Political Prisoner’s Health Alarms Activists
Human rights advocates expressed outrage this week over images of a recently freed Cuban political prisoner grappling with severe health issues, including cancer and signs of malnutrition.
For 67 years, Cuba has endured a harsh communist regime. The Communist Party, initially under the late dictator Fidel Castro and later his brother Raúl, has used widespread torture, shootings, mass arrests, and public assaults to silence dissent against their rule, which was established through a coup.
Since Fidel Castro’s passing in 2016, Cubans have frequently protested, demanding an end to the regime and respect for fundamental rights. The Communist Party’s responses have consistently been violent. After protests on July 11, 2021, Miguel Díaz-Canel, a known associate of Raúl Castro, referred to the situation as an “order of battle,” deploying the notorious “black beret” forces to quell the protests, leading to beatings and, in some instances, shootings—even in sight of children.
Alexander Díaz Rodriguez, now 45, was arrested shortly after those protests and charged with “disrespect” and “disturbing public order” for opposing the dictatorship. His release came only after he completed a five-year sentence, without any medical leniency.
Human rights group Prisoner Defenders reports that Díaz Rodriguez suffers from terminal pharyngeal cancer, hepatitis B, and thyroid disease, among other ailments. His family claims he endured physical and psychological torture during his imprisonment.
Javier Lalonde, president of Prisoners Defenders, shared a photo that Díaz Rodriguez sent after his release, urging its distribution to highlight the atrocities of the Cuban Communist regime.
“Seeing his condition reminded me of individuals I have seen released from concentration camps,” Lalonde noted, also sharing a photo of Díaz Rodriguez before his arrest in 2021 for contrast.
Human rights activists responded to the call for action, with José Daniel Ferrer, leader of Cuba’s largest opposition group, UNPACU, issuing a video message that described Díaz Rodríguez’s image as “undeniable proof of the horrors inflicted by Castro’s prison system.”
“He needs medicine, vitamins, food—he has nothing,” Ferrer, now in exile in Florida after enduring torture himself, stressed. He pointed out that Díaz Rodriguez was released after serving his sentence, asserting, “This wasn’t a pardon but a form of mercy from a brutal regime.”
The Castro regime sometimes tries to gain goodwill by announcing “amnesties” for disloyal prisoners, with the most recent instance occurring in early April. The Ministry of External Relations (MINREX), which does not oversee prisons, claimed that amnesty was granted to around 2,000 prisoners during religious celebrations. However, it failed to mention that practicing Christianity independently is illegal in Cuba. The announcement explicitly excluded individuals convicted of crimes against the regime, like Díaz Rodriguez, yet some media outlets falsely reported that it applied to political prisoners.
Lawyers for those imprisoned challenged the misinformation, stating that families of genuine political prisoners heard nothing about any releases. Lalonde mentioned that Cuba often engages in “prison drains” to reduce the number of low-level offenders to cut costs during hard economic times.
This year, the Castro government has faced particular struggles following the January arrest of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro on drug trafficking charges. Maduro had long supplied Cuba with oil at low prices in exchange for security and intelligence support. After his arrest, Maduro’s interim successor halted oil shipments to Cuba.
No longer receiving free oil, Cuba’s private power grid—once used by luxury hotels and affluent neighborhoods to bypass failures of the aging national grid—has become unreliable. The island is also running low on jet fuel, making it difficult for tourists to visit. While the drop in tourism income has impacted the Castro family’s lifestyle, many Cubans have already adapted to the lack of basic necessities like refrigeration and healthcare.
Activists advocating for Díaz Rodríguez expressed concern that he may not receive adequate medical care post-release. The anti-communist group Free Cuba Alliance urged democratic nations to provide humanitarian visas for former political prisoners.
José Díaz González Aguero, Deputy Coordinator of the Cuban Liberal Party Coalition, noted that a US-based news outlet reported Díaz Rodriguez’s persistent decline in prison and his lack of stable housing. He suffers from “constant diarrhea” and other serious health issues.
The Castro regime routinely denies the existence of political prisoners in Cuba.
