The Cuban regime does not allow brothers Omara and Ariel Ruiz Urquiola to return to Cuba due to their activism and protests against the dictatorship, but it uses their forced absence to confiscate the farm and animals that the Cuban biologist had under usufruct in Viñales (Pinar del Río).

The mother of the scientist, who is forced to live outside the Island, is requesting that her son be allowed to return to his country so he can regularize the usufruct contract he had with the State. Instead of addressing her request, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture, who identifies himself as Carlos Fleitas and claims to be a specialist in Genetics and Livestock Registration, explained in front of the phone camera of the mother of the Ruiz Urquiola family, Isabel Gliselia Urquiola Cruz, 79 years old, the reasons provided by the provincial authorities for taking the livestock on a significant date like the Farmer's Day.

Fleitas attended the El Infierno estate, owned by the Ruiz Urquiola family, alongside hunters Manuel Álvarez and José Miguel Martínez and buyer Pedro Arteaga. The four officials from Minagri showed up this Saturday, May 17, 2025, "in compliance with the resolution for the termination of the usufruct of fellow Ariel Ruiz Urquiola."

To clarify, they terminate the usufruct contract, leaving Ariel Ruiz Urquiola landless. Since he is not a landowner, he cannot have livestock, which is forcefully expropriated. Fleitas justifies this by stating that they gave the activists' mother a deadline to sell the livestock, and once that period expired, since the animals (which belong to Ariel Ruiz Urquiola, who is not allowed to enter Cuba) were not sold, "the State proceeds with a purchase, where, logically, he (Ariel Ruiz Urquiola) is not present, but an agreement is made in the 'mass' commission, in this case, number 4 of 2025, and the animals are transferred to the Agroindustrial company, El Rosario, in Viñales."

"We are here today to collect the animals that are missing," said Fleitas, referring to the fact that a cow and a little donkey had already been taken a couple of months ago.

Despite openly discussing a "purchase," the geneticist official asserts that the animals are taken from El Infierno "as a deposit."

In the face of a de facto action without the possibility of challenging this administrative decision in the courts—something completely normal and legal in a democracy—the mother of the Ruiz Urquiola family requested permission to gift the animals to local farmers who had volunteered to care for them on their farms, but officials from Minagri (Ministry of Agriculture) opposed this.

According to Omara Ruiz Urquiola, the forced purchase that the State claims is illegal because only the owners of the cattle, Ariel Ruiz Urquiola and herself, have the authority to sell. She holds a power that allows her to make decisions about the farm and the animals. Neither of the siblings is allowed to enter Cuba by the regime.

"We don't want to sell."

"I don't know how you will assess that, but it is nonetheless true that for reasons X the usufruct has been extinguished. I already explained to you on another occasion, and you know it's true, that my son cannot enter the country. My daughter, who holds the power of attorney, cannot either. I have made efforts, and I will not sell the animals, but I will give them away because that is a right we have. Those animals were legally purchased in Eastern Cuba and at the last fair in Consolación. They were paid for with my son's money, and therefore, no one has the right to force us to sell if I don't want to and neither does he. We prefer to give them to people we know will take good care of them, and precisely today I was going to take action to see how I can retrieve what is rightfully ours, paid for with our money, and we don't want to sell it," Isabel Urquiola emphasized without success.

Although officials from Minagri have suggested to the mother of the Urquiola family that, at 79 years old, she should go to Viñales to sign a document that they claim could give her "hope" of not losing everything, she has declined to attend because she understands that the owner of the estate is her son and that the only way to regularize the contract is by allowing him to return to Cuba, in accordance with the universal right to free movement.

In a message to her son Ariel, Isabel assures him that she does not want to lose her nerves over the issue of the farm and the animals, which is yet another injustice of the regime towards her family. She wants to stay strong so she can return to her children, whom the regime keeps restricted with no possibility of returning to Cuba, and in the case of Ariel Ruiz Urquiola, it is even worse because he is not even allowed to renew his Cuban passport. In this regard, in an interview granted to CiberCuba, Omara Ruiz Urquiola confirmed that she will attempt to enter her country again in December.

"I think it's pointless to go (to the Minagri), to wear myself out unnecessarily. One cannot trust these people. We knew this was going to happen, but still, it is something that one suffers greatly. At this hour, I haven't even been able to have breakfast. I will try to find my balance, pray to God that He accompanies me, that I am well enough to keep going, to continue, to see you all one day," said Isabel Urquiola, mother of the activists.

She also wants to stay strong in order to denounce, in a democratic Cuba, the officials who have confiscated her animals. "This is theft, even if it's not armed robbery. The animals are yours (Ariel’s). You bought them with your money. It’s not the time to mourn, but rather to have faith in the future that lies ahead. I have to take care of myself. I want to be alive. I don't want this to lead to a bigger health problem for me," she added to her son.

"You don’t have to ban them from entering the country. You should have addressed this legally. It’s very difficult for me. I’m simply your mother. I’m not afraid to go there, but something could happen to me. I’m going to take a shower, eat something, and rest. I can’t do anything else today."