26 deaths in custody in Cuba reported in the first half of 2024

The non-governmental organization Cubalex, specialized in monitoring human rights in Cuba and providing free legal assistance on the island, published a report on repression in the country during the first half of 2024, which resulted in 26 deaths in custody.

The report details a context of increasing human rights violations in the first six months of the year, with an emphasis on March, with more than 40 protests across the country.

During this period, a total of 1,876 repressive incidents were documented, including arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances, threats, physical violence, and restrictions on freedom of expression and religion.

Conditions in Cuban prisons remain alarming, with evidence of torture, cruel and inhumane treatment, and a severe lack of medical care that contributes to deaths in custody.

In addition, 137 protests were recorded in the semester, which were suppressed through internet shutdowns, violent detentions, fines, and criminal charges.

The report indicates that arbitrary detentions often result in enforced disappearances, beatings, and torture. Repressive practices include coercion and threats during detentions and summons, as well as the fabrication of criminal charges and death threats.

Physical violence, bullying, and digital harassment have also been common forms of repression. Law enforcement has been involved in several cases of violence, and surveillance operations and arbitrary home arrests have become frequent. Internet blackouts and the blocking of websites have continued to severely limit freedom of expression and access to information.

This report highlights the growing concern about the human rights situation in Cuba and calls for international action to address the documented serious violations.

In August, Juan Eralys Cayamo, a former member of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), died in police custody in Santiago de Cuba in the early hours of August 16, after being arrested the day before at his home.

The journalist Yosmany Mayeta reported that Cayamo, known as "Olugo," was detained by the police on charges that family and friends denounced as false, specifically for "drug possession."

According to witnesses, the violent arrest occurred on 3rd Street of the Veguita de Galo neighborhood around 6:30 in the evening, when the police burst into his home and struck him several times, both inside the house and on the street.

After the arrest, he was transferred to the Criminal Operations Unit of Reparto Versalles, where, according to official reports, he died of a heart attack before being taken to a hospital.

In May, the family of a 28-year-old Cuban man who died while in police custody at a unit of the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) in San Juan y Martínez, in the province of Pinar del Río, called for justice for the unfortunate event.

Identified as Luis Ángel Benítez Hernández, he had been arrested after setting fire to his house with his ex-partner inside.

Until February, police violence in Cuba claimed at least 95 lives and affected 287 people in the last five years, according to a study conducted by the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights and El Toque.