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The Official Gazette of Cuba No. 43, published this Wednesday, includes two orders signed by the Attorney General of the Republic, Yamila Peña Ojeda, which mandate the continuation in absentia of the criminal proceedings for "alleged terrorism charges" against the exiled Cuban activists Seriocha Humberto Fernández Rojas and Miguel Gómez Bártulos, both residing in the United States.
The documents, published today in the Official Gazette although signed on March 30, 2026, were initiated by the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) through the Minister of Justice, and are based on Article 766.3 b) and c) of the Cuban «Criminal Procedure» Law.
According to the ruling GOC-2026-307-O43, Fernández Rojas "directed and financed the fires committed by the defendant in that case, at the La Mariposa store in Santa Clara, Villa Clara, and at the Military Attention Office No. 6 in the municipality of Diez de Octubre, Havana."
The second vehicle, GOC-2026-308-O43, accuses Gómez Bártulos of having "directed and financed the fires committed by the defendants in a fuel storage tank, in an oil well located in La Conchita, municipality of Cárdenas, Matanzas, and in the replica of the Granma Yacht, at the Central Palace of Pioneers 'Ernesto Ché Guevara', in Lenin Park, Arroyo Naranjo, Havana."
Fernández Rojas left Cuba on January 9, 2020, while Gómez Bártulos did so on December 22, 2017.
Both are linked to the opposition movement Cuba Primero, based in Miami, which the regime itself included among the 20 entities declared "terrorist" in its National List of Individuals and Entities Linked to Terrorism (Resolution 13/2025 of MININT).
The legal proceedings against the two activists began last year. On July 31, 2025, the Specialized Criminal Investigation Body issued its warrants, published in the Official Extraordinary Gazette No. 47 on August 19, 2025.
By failing to appear before the authorities, on September 3, 2025, the prosecutor declared them in contempt.
The resolution published today takes the definitive step by ordering that the trials "continue in absentia until their final resolution" and that both "be considered parties in the criminal process."
In July 2025, the regime updated its list of individuals linked to terrorism, which includes 62 individuals and 20 organizations, mostly based in Florida, and formally submitted it to the UN.
Among those included are Alexander Otaola, Ana Olema Hernández, Orlando Gutiérrez Boronat, and Eliecer Ávila, along with other exiles and opponents identified by the regime.
However, inclusion on that list has no legal repercussions outside of Cuba. In 2024, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that there were no active alerts at Spanish airports against those mentioned.
Human rights organizations and independent analysts have warned that the regime's use of the term "terrorism" aims more for intimidation than for justice, and that the strategy includes pressuring family members who remain on the Island, as happened when the summons for Fernández Rojas was delivered to his mother in Cuba.
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