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The health of political prisoners Loreto Hernández García and Donaida Pérez Paseiro is progressively deteriorating in the Guamajal prison in Villa Clara, according to testimony provided this week by Rosabel Sánchez, Hernández García's daughter, following her visit to them in the middle of the week.
Sánchez reported to Radio Martí that his father is experiencing severe respiratory problems: "as he spoke, he was short of breath, he was becoming fatigued," he described.
Additionally, Hernández García "continues to suffer from diabetes-related complications," a chronic illness that adds to other documented ailments, including pancreatitis, ischemic heart disease, and hypertension.
Pérez Paseiro, for his part, is suffering from "severe bone pain... and extremely high blood pressure, at the limit," Sánchez reported.
Despite the clinical condition of both, the opposition leader's daughter emphasized that "it is no secret that their health is gradually deteriorating," although she stressed that "both my father and his wife have great moral strength, a great spiritual strength."
Hernández García is the president of the Free Yoruba Association of Cuba and is serving a seven-year prison sentence for his involvement in the protests on July 11, 2021, in Placetas, Villa Clara.
His wife, Pérez Paseiro, president of the same organization and a Yoruba priestess with nearly thirty years of activist experience, was sentenced to eight years for the same offenses.
Pérez Paseiro had been released in January 2025 as part of a group of 553 sanctioned individuals benefiting from early release measures, but the Provincial People's Court of Villa Clara revoked her parole on June 11, 2025, citing failure to comply with obligations.
Human rights activists and organizations attribute the decision to political motivations, as Pérez Paseiro continued to publicly demand the release of her husband and all prisoners of conscience on the island.
From prison, Hernández García asked his daughter to make public his condemnation of the brutal beating suffered by political prisoner Félix Navarro in the Agüica prison, Matanzas, on April 10.
Navarro, 72 years old and coordinator of the Pedro Luis Boitel Movement for Democracy, was assaulted by the head of Internal Order at that prison and sent to a punishment cell in isolation.
Pérez Paseiro also sent a message of thanks to the activist Oraiza Estrada for mentioning her at a recent event at the United Nations, where the religious persecution and racial discrimination against Cuban political prisoners were denounced.
Amnesty International recognized both as prisoners of conscience and demanded their immediate and unconditional release in February 2026, when Pérez Paseiro completed 54 years in prison.
Both Hernández García and his wife reiterated during the visit their demand for freedom for all Cuban political prisoners.
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