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Guards at the Provincial Prison of Holguín threatened political prisoner Roilán Álvarez Rensoler with execution, along with the other Cubans imprisoned for political reasons, if the United States carries out a military intervention in Cuba, according to a report by one of his sisters in an audio published this Thursday by Martí Noticias.
"Threats that if something were to happen here on the Island; that is to say, if the U.S. government were to intervene, the first ones to be executed would be them, simply for thinking differently," declared the woman, whose words reveal the level of intimidation faced by political prisoners on the island.
The activist's sister also described Álvarez Rensoler's health condition as "critical": he suffers from constant headaches, has a "delicate" kidney, experiences frequent fevers, and cannot lie down in bed due to the bedbugs infesting his cell.
Álvarez Rensoler, a member of the Cuban Patriotic Union (UNPACU), was arrested on January 30 along with other activists in Holguín, accused of making anti-government graffiti and damaging a fence featuring an image of Fidel Castro in Birán.
After his arrest, the political prisoner began a hunger strike at the detention center known as "Everyone Sings" in Pedernales, to demand his release.
The protest lasted 49 days and resulted in a cardiac arrest on March 19, when he was hospitalized at the "Lucía Íñiguez Landín" Clinical Surgical Hospital in Holguín and resuscitated with a defibrillator.
On that same day, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued precautionary measures through Resolution 19/26, requesting the Cuban regime to ensure his life and integrity.
Álvarez Rensoler ended the hunger strike on March 19 after speaking with his sister Arianna, consuming fruit juice, and was subsequently transferred to the Provincial Prison of Holguín, known as "El Yayal," where he remains with serious aftereffects.
The reported threats are part of the secret plan "Baraguá", approved by the National Defense Council on January 17 as part of the "plans and measures for transitioning to a State of War."
According to Diario de Cuba, this plan—developed by the Ministry of the Interior in coordination with the Attorney General's Office—contemplates the "isolation" of political prisoners in the event of armed conflict and their use as hostages in potential negotiations for a ceasefire.
The threats of shooting now reported suggest that using them as bargaining chips is not the only option anticipated for those whom the regime incarcerates for their beliefs.
For common inmates, the "Baraguá" plan includes provisions for early releases and exceptional military mobilizations, excluding those whom authorities deem to be "risks to national security," a category that encompasses opponents and dissenters.
The case of Álvarez Rensoler is not the only one that illustrates the escalating repression. The independent activist and journalist Ángel Cuza was detained on April 30 in front of his underage daughter in Havana by State Security agents, and was transferred this week to the El Vivac detention center in Calabazar.
"The girl says that they grabbed him by the neck and hit him," recounted Cuza's wife in an audio message sent to Diario de Cuba.
Cuza also reported that the agents planted false evidence—bullets with gunpowder—to charge him with the illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
According to the organization Prisoners Defenders, Cuba currently has around 650 political prisoners, a figure that makes the island one of the countries with the highest number of political incarcerations in the Western Hemisphere.
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