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Human rights organizations have launched an urgent international campaign to demand the immediate release of Ernesto Borges Pérez, a former Cuban intelligence officer who has been imprisoned since 1998 for attempting to expose a spy network of the Cuban regime.
A month before the scheduled date for his release, set for April 24, 2025, activists fear that the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel will attempt to extend his sentence by fabricating new charges.
The initiative is promoted by 'Political Prisoners in Cuba' (@PresosCuba) and 'Cuba Decide Washington DC' (@CubWashingtonDC), and aims to bring attention to a case that they consider emblematic of the systematic punishment of dissent within the Cuban system.
Through a petition published on Change.org, along with graphic and audiovisual materials, as well as a countdown clock to the release date, the organizers aim to apply national and international pressure to prevent another injustice.
Ernesto Borges was a captain in the General Directorate of Counterintelligence of the Ministry of the Interior when he was arrested in June 1998, at the age of 32.
His "crime" was attempting to deliver to U.S. diplomats a list of 26 Cuban spies infiltrated in the United States and NATO countries. He never managed to carry out the action, but he was initially sentenced to death, which was later commuted to 30 years of imprisonment.
Since then, he has spent over a quarter of a century behind bars, under extreme conditions. He was confined for ten years in dark, unventilated cells, has been systematically denied medical assistance, and has gone more than 20 years without being able to embrace his daughter.
His health is precarious: he suffers from advanced cataracts that have left him almost blind, has an inguinal hernia that requires urgent surgery, and is experiencing alarming physical deterioration.
"The case of Ernesto represents not only a prolonged injustice but also a warning for any Cuban who tries to act with conscience within the system," stated one of the campaign coordinators. "The regime punishes with cruelty those who do not submit. We fear that now, as the date of his release approaches, they may try to fabricate new charges against him to extend his imprisonment indefinitely."
The campaign also points out that the treatment received by Borges stands in stark contrast to what the regime has extended to convicted spies who served time in the United States, such as the so-called "Five Heroes," who were released and welcomed as state figures.
In contrast, Borges, who tried to prevent an act of espionage, has been condemned to oblivion, isolation, and suffering.
Activists highlighted that, according to Cuba's own military laws, Borges would have already served more than a third of his sentence, which would allow for his early release. However, the authorities have repeatedly refused to review his case.
"Every day counts," insisted the campaign promoters, who are calling on Cuban civil society, independent media, human rights organizations, and supportive citizens to share their story using the hashtags #FreeErnestoBorges, #LibertadParaErnestoBorges, #HastaQueSeanLibres, and #Todos.
The call is also to the international community, to closely observe this case in the coming weeks. “The freedom and life of Ernesto Borges are at stake. It's now or never,” they concluded.
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