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The Cuban opposition member Bárbaro de la Nuez Ramírez, 60 years old, remains detained at the Provincial Unit of Criminal Instruction and Operations (UPICO) in Cienfuegos, accused by authorities of planning acts of sabotage in the province and hiring individuals to carry them out.
He was arrested on April 22 following simultaneous searches at his home and his mother's, both located in the municipality of Aguada de Pasajeros, with no official charges having been filed so far.
De la Nuez is a member of the Independent Trade Union Association of Cuba (ASIC) and the eco-peace organization Naturpaz, both of which are considered illegal by the regime and subjected to systematic repression.
His brother Juan Alberto de la Nuez, also an activist, tried to visit him last Saturday at UPICO, but was sent directly to State Security.
"When I arrived at the UPICO headquarters in Pueblo Grifo, they told me that they couldn't grant me visits and that I had to go to State Security," Juan Alberto recounted.
A political police officer received him and explained the reason for his arrest with a justification that reveals the political nature of the case: "My brother was very active on social media, and although there were no accusations against him, there was an ongoing investigation, and until it was concluded, they couldn’t decide what to do with him."
The visit finally took place under the supervision of a lieutenant colonel, who warned that it would end immediately if the case were discussed.
Despite the conditions of confinement, Juan Alberto described his brother as "very strong, very resilient," although thinner, and expressed confidence in his release due to the lack of basis in the accusations.
The detention of De la Nuez is part of a wave of repression against independent unionists that intensified in Cienfuegos in the weeks leading up to May 1st, with at least ten summonses issued to members of ASIC.
Two other union members, Lázaro Roberto Aguiar Mendoza and Consuelo Rodríguez Hernández, were summoned without a court order to police stations in Cruces, Cienfuegos, during the same period.
At least twenty activists in the region are facing sentences or preventive detention for alleged ties to outside groups that the regime labels as "counter-revolutionaries."
The use of sabotage charges as a tool for political repression is not new in Cuba. The crime of sabotage carries sentences ranging from seven to fifteen years, which can be extended to life imprisonment depending on aggravating circumstances. In the second half of 2025, the regime expanded its definition to include behaviors such as fuel theft, as documented by Cubalex.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention condemned in November 2025 the use of this charge against prisoners from the 11J, classifying those detentions as crimes against humanity due to political discrimination.
This case adds to the historic record of 1,250 political prisoners that Cuba recorded at the end of March 2026, according to Prisoners Defenders, the highest number since the triumph of the revolution.
The investigation against De la Nuez remains open, and his brother warned that, as long as it is ongoing, the authorities do not plan to decide his legal situation, which could indefinitely extend his detention without formal charges.
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