A burst of screams, metal clanging, and chants against the regime shattered the silence of the provincial prison of Canaleta in Ciego de Ávila early Thursday morning.
Inside the prison, which is considered a high-security facility, audios began to circulate in which voices can be heard chanting “Freedom,” “Homeland and Life,” and “Down with Díaz-Canel,” while denouncing abuses and extreme survival conditions.
The agency EFE confirmed the riot based on reports from the NGOs Prisoners Defenders and the Cuban Prisons Documentation Center (CDPC).
A testimony from an inmate, provided to the agency, asserted that police forces were brought in as reinforcements to the prison and that they were using "rubber bullets," "pepper spray," and physical violence to try to quell the protest.
According to that testimony, the trigger for the uprising was "hunger" and "mistreatment" in the prison, in addition to widespread discontent with the Cuban Government.
In social media, the organization Prisoners Defenders warned: “Riot at the Canaleta prison in Ciego de Ávila, Cuba. The prisoners have risen up demanding freedom for Cuba.”
The NGO stated that some sources even spoke of deaths during the repression, although this claim has not been confirmed so far.
Blockage of family members and reports of possible deaths
In a very recent report, the leader of Cuba Primero, Armando Labrador, denounced a new episode of repression surrounding the prison.
Under the heading “URGENT | CASTROIST REGIME BLOCKS RELATIVES OF INMATES AT CANALETA PRISON IN CIEGO DE ÁVILA”, your organization stated that authorities prevented relatives from getting close to the entrance of the penitentiary.
According to the complaint, the repressive forces are holding the relatives “detained and concentrated on the bypass of the road leading to the prison, under a heavy police presence.”
"They are concentrated on the ring road around the prison with a heavy police presence," expressed an activist from the movement, who raised concerns about the increase in repression and the information blackout in the area.
"Ambulances entering and leaving the provincial prison 'Canaletas' in Ciego de Ávila. Injuries are being reported. The repression has been brutal. I have heard of possible deaths, but I have no confirmation. God willing, no prisoner loses their life due to the brutal repression of the Castro-communist tyranny," denounced José Daniel Ferrer on X.
In parallel, Prisoners Defenders preliminarily reported that there could be "at least 10 inmates killed by riot forces belonging to the Directorate of Prison Establishments of MININT", a figure that —the organization emphasized— is currently undergoing independent verification.
These reports have raised concern among family members and activists, fearing a massacre inside the prison and the complete lack of official information from the Cuban authorities.
Reports from within the prison
Hours earlier, Armando Labrador himself had stated that “political prisoners from the Cuba Primero Movement as well as common inmates” were leading the protest inside the prison, including a pots-and-pans demonstration “as an expression of defiance against the regime.”
According to audio recordings sent to your organization, "loud screams can be heard from inside the prison with chants such as: ‘Freedom’, ‘Homeland and Life’, and ‘Down with Díaz-Canel’, which demonstrates the increasing level of desperation, indignation, and resistance even within the regime's prisons."
The former political prisoner and leader of UNPACU, José Daniel Ferrer, also reported the riot on his Facebook profile.
"URGENT! Riot troops, gunfire, the protest of political and common prisoners continues with shouts of Homeland and Life", he wrote.
In one of the circulated videos, a prisoner can be heard stating that a young man named Daniel "was found hanged after being beaten by the guards", casting doubt on the idea that it was a suicide.
So far, this allegation has not been independently verified.
Ferrer explained that the inmates were protesting due to “extreme hunger, abuse, beatings, lack of water, and terrible hygiene,” and described the prison as “a kind of extermination camp, like most prisons or all the prisons in Cuba.”
"The situation in which political prisoners and also common prisoners survive is truly terrible and alarming. Prisoners are constantly dying from tuberculosis, malnutrition, and a combination of diseases and malnutrition," he reported.
According to their account, the inmates had blocked the prison doors, forcing the authorities to bring "welding and metal cutting equipment to be able to open the door."
Regarding what happened afterward, he admitted uncertainty: “We don’t know what happened next, if they were beaten, if they are being beaten, or if some of those who organized or participated in this protest might end up being killed.”
A penalty under scrutiny
The riot has once again brought the situation in Cuban prisons to the forefront of the debate.
The CDPC, based in Mexico and specialized in monitoring the penitentiary system of the island, has repeatedly reported cases of deaths due to negligence, mistreatment, sanitation issues, and punishment.
Between March 2024 and March 2025, this organization recorded at least 60 deaths in Cuban prisons. Of these, 47 were related to physical and mental health issues and the lack of timely medical attention, while another seven were linked to direct physical violence.
During that same period, the CDPC documented 1,330 human rights violations against incarcerated individuals, including 1,045 cases of harassment and repression, 402 cases of denial of medical attention, 297 related to inadequate living conditions, and 224 linked to food shortages.
The NGO has also denounced the persistent use of "prolonged isolation," "punitive transfers," and "forced labor without compensation or under threats."
He has also criticized torture methods such as "the Turkish bed," "the bicycle," and the use of "shakiras," shackles that completely immobilize inmates.
Regarding the Canaleta prison in particular, the CDPC has noted issues of overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, deficiencies in the quality and quantity of food, inadequate medical care, internal corruption, and repression against political prisoners.
For its part, Prisoners Defenders, based in Madrid, has recorded to date 1,207 political prisoners in Cuba.
So far, Cuban authorities have not issued any official information regarding the events that occurred at the Canaleta prison. Meanwhile, family members are waiting for news, and independent organizations are attempting to verify reports that, if confirmed, would reveal one of the most serious incidents to have occurred recently within the Cuban prison system.
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