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The Cuban political prisoner Leoncio Rodríguez Ponce, who has been behind bars for 37 years, is in danger of death after starting a hunger strike on December 1.
According to a report by the organization Cubalex on their Facebook page, he was moved to a solitary confinement cell in the Holguín Provincial Prison by orders of the head of Internal Order of the prison, as retaliation for his peaceful protest.
Rodríguez Ponce, 60 years old, began his action in solidarity with Yosvany Rosell García, who maintained the same measure for 40 days.
Now his health condition is critical. He suffers from hypertension, ulcers, severe malnutrition, kidney problems, and rheumatism, conditions that make him extremely vulnerable to a hunger strike.
Despite this, the prison authorities have systematically denied him the medical attention he needs, prolonging his suffering and increasing the risk of fatal consequences.
Cubalex reported that Rodríguez Ponce, imprisoned since 1988, has been the victim of a systematic pattern of abuses: beatings, threats, arbitrary transfers between different prisons, denial of benefits, and fabrication of criminal charges.
Currently, he is kept away from his family in Guantánamo, making visits and access to vital support difficult.
During his long confinement, Rodríguez Ponce has been held in prisons in Boniato, Kilo 8, Villa Clara, Combinado del Este, and Pinar del Río, with Holguín being his most recent destination.
In Boniato, he suffered a beating that led him to tattoo the word "change" on his forehead as an act of resistance. Following this, State Security offered him parole in exchange for removing it, an offer he rejected, which resulted in further reprisals.
The case of Rodríguez Ponce is not an isolated incident: it reflects the systematic treatment that political prisoners receive in Cuba, where medical neglect and inhumane prison conditions become tools of repression.
Organizations like Cubalex demand that the regime guarantees Rodríguez Ponce's life and health, as well as the respect for his fundamental rights.
The political prisoner has also publicly questioned, in letters sent to the European Union, the hypocrisy of international organizations that criticize the U.S. embargo but do not press the Cuban government for human rights violations within the Island.
Rodríguez Ponce directly questioned the lack of coherence in European policy and the little attention given to the situation of political prisoners in Cuba, highlighting that their struggle transcends the walls of the prison.
The situation of Leoncio Rodríguez Ponce demands immediate attention and serves as a wake-up call regarding the extreme conditions faced by dissenters in Cuba.
The international community, human rights organizations, and citizens play a crucial role in bringing attention to their case and demanding that the Cuban regime stop the reprisals and ensure the life and dignity of political prisoners.
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