At least 80 foreign prisoners declare a hunger strike in a Cuban prison.

At least 80 common prisoners from the foreigner prison in La Condesa, Mayabeque, declared a hunger strike since June 4th, protesting against the mistreatment and power outages they suffer in the prison.

In a handwritten letter published this Friday, the inmates, men and women, mostly Venezuelans, denounced mistreatment, poor nutrition, and the denial of penal benefits despite meeting the requirements for parole.

In their letter addressed to activists, organizations, and independent journalists, and sent to CiberCuba by Javier Larrondo, president of the NGO Prisoners Defenders, the inmates request international intervention to address their situation and question the difficulties they face in accessing water, electricity, and adequate medical care.

Especially, they denounce the food in prison, which lacks nutritional value.

"Why, day after day, do we struggle to access water, electricity, proper medical care; we are given poor nutrition, with no nutritional value, extremely limited and, above all, extremely inhumane?" pointed out the strikers.

"A considerable number of us, foreign prisoners, have been disappeared in the early hours, and every day that passes we continue to disappear without a trace," they explained.

"We will only consume liquid or food again when this discrimination, injustice is justified, and our rights are guaranteed, a dignified and adequate nutrition, medical service and... On behalf of all foreign prisoners in Cuba (men and women) we urgently request international support," concludes the letter.

In total, 74 Venezuelans, convicted of various crimes, are part of the group of strikers.

They question why they are not allowed to be transferred to their home countries to serve their sentences in a dignified manner if the island has food difficulties and deficient prison conditions.

The signatories claim they are constantly repressed and threatened, and many prisoners have been disappeared in the early hours without a trace, while others are punished in cells known for their cruelty such as "47".

Among the strikers is Fabio, a Venezuelan man almost 35 years old, sentenced to 15 years for drug-related crimes. His mother, María, told Larrondo that her son has been imprisoned for seven years and is being denied parole for taking a stand.

In an audio sent to independent Cuban media, Larrondo explains that the woman also reported that Fabio's father, who was imprisoned with him for the same crime, died in prison due to lack of medical attention.

For the past three days, in the Facebook group "La Condesa en Cuba," comments from relatives and acquaintances of the prisoners have been circulating, confirming that "There is a lot of abuse. They are given spoiled food and told to eat if they want, a certain Daniels. Likewise, they do not want to enforce the retroactivity of the new penal code to reduce their penalties to be released soon."

Many are fed up because they reduced that thing, if it can be called food, and also they take away their energy all day, in addition to water and phone, to top it off", stated another internet user.

This information is confirmed by the mother of one of the prisoners. Both the women at the PMO prison (Women's Prison of the West) and the men at La Condesa are on a hunger strike, although, as always, not everyone," a third party stated.

This is not the first time that the inmates of La Condesa protest. In December 2022, Bulgarian citizen Andrian Georgiev protested in the same way. In February of that same year, a Jamaican prisoner committed suicide in his cell, prisoners at the prison reported, warning of the strange behavior of officers after the tragedy.

On that occasion, CiberCuba confirmed that the breakfast in the prison consisted of a bread roll and a spoonful of eggs beaten in a glass of sweetened water.

The meal included 30 grams of chicken, six centimeters of banana, about 60 grams of rice, 200 milliliters of soup, two tablespoons of liquid jelly, and a bread the size of a child's fist.

In 2022, Radu Martin, a Canadian prisoner in La Condesa, described that the authorities had little food to give to the people, no medication, and on top of that, they cut off the power for four or five hours a day.

The situation with the supply and quality of water is also a problem, and consequently, the hygiene of the prison and the inmates of the foreigner's prison. According to Martin, "17 people in one dormitory lined up for three showers and three toilets" that need to be flushed with buckets.