The activist and independent journalist Guillermo del Sol Pérez, a member of Cuba Decide, has been on a hunger strike for 42 days in his home in Santa Clara, according to a report by the organization Cubalex on Wednesday.
His health condition is critical, and the doctors attending to him warn that he could collapse at any moment, the publication states.
The protest, which began on June 19, demands the release of the political prisoner from 11J Leonel Tristá García and of another 17 political prisoners from Villa Clara.
The Cuban regime has not responded to any of those demands, notes Cubalex.
People close to the activist have reported that Del Sol is experiencing a diabetes and hypertension crisis, significant weight loss, and signs of dehydration.
The doctors who visit him have noted that his physical reserves are nearly depleted, yet he remains steadfast in his protest.
One of the direct triggers of the strike was the revocation of the extrapenal license of Leonel Tristá, who had been released in January 2025 as part of the releases announced by the regime.
In June 2026, authorities ordered his reincarceration at Guamajal prison in Villa Clara, where he will serve the remainder of an eight-year sentence imposed for participating in the protests on July 11, 2021.
The strike was also preceded by the arbitrary detention of Del Sol himself by State Security agents, who accused him of stealing a scooter for which the activist has legal documentation.
The 42 days that have passed represent a particularly dangerous threshold for Del Sol, who has already experienced a similar situation in 2019.
That time, after more than 40 days of fasting, he fainted with a blood pressure of 160/100 and was urgently transported to the Arnaldo Milián Castro Hospital in Santa Clara. Government agents expelled him from the hospital and returned him to his home, confiscating the phones belonging to him and his son.
That strike in 2019 lasted a total of 55 days —the longest in its history to date— and was initiated to demand an end to the "regulated" policy that prevented her son Adrián del Sol Alfonso from leaving the country. According to Memory of Nations, Del Sol has undergone 14 hunger strikes throughout his career as an activist.
The current hunger strike is taking place at her home, which, according to Cubalex, gives it greater national and international visibility and makes it harder for the authorities to formally classify it as an act of prison indiscipline.
However, this type of protest tends to trigger other mechanisms of repression: constant surveillance of the home, internet service disruptions, and police cordons to prevent visits from relatives or journalists.
The context of the strike reflects the overall situation of political prisoners in Cuba. In April 2026, Justicia 11J reported 775 political prisoners on the island, 338 of whom are linked to the protests on July 11th.
The mass pardon that occurred that same month, which benefited over 2,000 inmates, explicitly excluded those convicted of "offenses against authority," the category that the regime uses to imprison protesters.
In 2019, on the verge of physical collapse, Del Sol declared: "I don't know what plans Raúl Castro has for me, but I accept the challenge, and I will go to the very end, until there are no more regulated individuals in Cuba, or until I give my life in the effort."
Seven years later, with 42 days without food and the regime refusing to yield, that determination is put to the test once again.
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