Yunaiky Linares Rodríguez was 24 years old when the Cuban regime sentenced her to eight years in prison for participating in the protests on July 11, 2021.
In an interview recorded by CubaNet on the day of her release, in January 2025, she described with unusual starkness what three years in the Western Women's Prison —known as El Guatao— did to her identity, her language, and her worldview.
"I entered with an innocence that I lost 99.9% of," Linares said before the camera just hours after stepping onto the street. The statement encapsulates a story that goes far beyond the bars.
Linares—who was detained again this week during several protests in La Habana—described arriving in El Guatao as a lonely and studious young woman, without vices, without tattoos, spending her free time in the library and barely knowing the nightlife.
Inside the prison, she lived alongside inmates convicted of murder—including mothers who had killed their own children—drug trafficking, and other serious crimes. "They took me out of one world and introduced me to another about which I knew nothing," she stated.
The other inmates mocked her way of speaking. The police, as she reported, instructed the prisoners to call her "stone thrower." They would wake her up at three in the morning to throw her belongings on the floor.
Two inmates threatened her and cut part of her hair in exchange for a deodorant and a roll of toilet paper. They stole the food her mother sent her in the visiting package. "I had to learn to live among lions," she summarized.
Upon leaving, Linares was a compulsive smoker and drank coffee, habits she did not have when she entered. "Nowadays, I am a compulsive smoker; I drink coffee like crazy," she admitted. She also stated that she had developed a deep hatred for police uniforms: "I hate the police; I hate anyone in a uniform."
The Cuban prosecutor's office had initially sought a 17-year prison sentence on charges of public disorder, assault, damage, and sedition. The final sentence was eight years.
Linares served more than three years before being released on parole, a status that in Cuba does not equate to full freedom: those granted this privilege remain under surveillance, face frequent summons, and are under the constant threat of revocation.
That threat materialized. In June 2026, just a year and a half after her release, Linares was arrested again during a spontaneous protest in the Santa Amalia neighborhood, Arroyo Naranjo municipality, Havana, prompted by the prolonged power outages in the area.
From the cell known as El Capri, she managed to record a video to report: "I am beaten, they asphyxiated me, the police were covering my mouth and nose to torture me. They denied me medical assistance and water."
The activist Anamely Ramos, from New York, shared the case and described that the family was also beaten in the presence of young children. The artist Arián Cruz Álvarez (Tata Poet) amplified the complaint: «Yunaykis Linares was brutally beaten and tortured on the way while she was being taken into custody. All of this happened in front of underage children.»
The case of Linares is not isolated. At least seven individuals released after the events of July 11 were re-incarcerated since January 2025, according to documentation from Justicia 11J. In May 2026, Prisoners Defenders reported an absolute record of 1,260 political prisoners in Cuba, with allegations of torture, assaults, and death threats, including 14 minors imprisoned.
In the interview from January 2025, Linares concluded with a phrase that now sounds prophetic: "Forgetting is impossible, but in the end, we must overcome difficulties and be strong because we have truly been through a lot."
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