The Cuban political prisoner Yaser Fernando Rodríguez González, 42 years old, has been on a hunger strike for seven days and has been transferred to a punishment cell in the Augusto César Sandino Penitentiary Center in Pinar del Río, where his life is in imminent danger, according to an urgent alert released this Thursday by the media Brito News.
The report states that Rodríguez González suffers from severe hepatitis and is not receiving medical treatment, medication, or proper nutrition, which critically worsens his condition. Brito News demands "an immediate proof of life, urgent medical attention, access to the necessary medications, and an end to torture, mistreatment, and any other violations of his fundamental rights."
The physical deterioration of the prisoner is evident in the images released by that medium, which show a devastating contrast between his current appearance—shaved head, gaunt face, severe weight and tooth loss—and how he looked at the time of his arrest in 2020.
Rodríguez González began his hunger strike on July 27 in protest of the alleged mistreatment he suffers under the orders of First Lieutenant Luis Enrique Polueda Camejo, according to the initial report from Brito News.
The conditions described from that prison are extreme. In May 2026, he alerted Martí Noticias about the food situation with his own words: "They give us 10 to 20 grams of rice. In the morning, breakfast is a small piece of bread the size of a peseta and a bit of sugarless soda."
He also described the main meal as "picadillo that's mostly water, pasta with worms, and broth made from root vegetable water," and reported an outbreak of illness among more than 200 inmates in the prison.
Human rights organizations report malnutrition, circulatory issues, gallstones, and hepatitis in his medical history, according to the profile of Rodríguez González on Prisoners Defenders.
The prisoner was arrested on November 25, 2020, in the Los Sitios neighborhood of Havana, after posting a video on Facebook in which he called on Cubans to unite against the dictatorship and to put up opposition posters in their homes. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for "acts against the security of the State" and "incitement to rebellion."
Since then, he has been transferred to at least three prisons and has accumulated a documented history of reprisals. In August 2021, he was placed in solitary confinement at Combinado del Este and stripped of all his belongings. In March 2022, at Valle Grande prison, the head of internal security, Juan Carlos Gutiérrez, beat him and threatened to "make him disappear" for informing the independent press.
The case is set against a backdrop of increasing repression. Prisoners Defenders documented a record of 1,306 political prisoners in Cuba by the end of June 2026, with 264 new politically motivated arrests made between July 2025 and June 2026, and a total of 2,112 individuals incarcerated since July 11, 2021. The organization has also recorded that the daily caloric intake within the Cuban penal system ranges from 250 to 353 calories, compared to the 2,000-2,500 calories needed by an adult.
Brito News concludes its alert with a direct warning: "Silence also has consequences. The life of Yaser Fernando Rodríguez González must be protected."
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