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The non-governmental organization Cubalex documented in 2025 an alarming pattern of internal drug trafficking in several Cuban prisons, where regime officials and State Security agents would be directly involved in the introduction and distribution of highly dangerous substances, including the so-called "chemical".
The reports confirm that in prisons such as 1580 in San Miguel del Padrón, Combinado del Este, and the facilities of Aguacate, Ivanov, Ho Chi Minh, and Cuba Sí, drugs circulate with complete impunity among inmates and guards, worsening an environment already characterized by violence, malnutrition, and a lack of medical care.
In prison 1580, known as El Pitirre, former inmates reported widespread corruption among the guards, who, according to testimonies, introduce drugs to sell them within the facility.
In Combinado del Este, activist Marcel Valdés notified about a consolidated drug trafficking network run by inmates protected by high-ranking officials.
In the prisons of Cuba, drugs are sold alongside weapons and other goods, with the complicity of the officers.
In Mayabeque, officials from the Aguacate prison have been accused of trafficking and extortion, while in Cuba Sí, in Holguín, at least six inmates reportedly died in 2024 due to overdoses and medical negligence.
Cubalex warns that these practices are part of a systemic corruption, where prison officials sell permissions, phone calls, and food, while punishing those who do not cooperate through extortion or false accusations.
The organization reminded that the Cuban state has the obligation to guarantee the life and integrity of individuals in its custody. However, institutional complicity has turned prisons into places of impunity and human degradation.
The organization reiterated its call to victims and their families to report these abuses safely, ensuring confidentiality and free legal support.
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