The human rights organization Cubalex verified that at least seven adolescents under 18 years old remain imprisoned in Cuba for reasons related to protests or criminal proceedings with evident political motivations, according to a report published on Friday.
The seven documented minors are Cristian Fernández Sarmiento (16 years old), Alex Javier Hernández González (13 years old), Ander Magdiel del Toro Suárez (15 years old), José Jorge Menéndez Vázquez (17 years old), Cristian de Jesús Crespo Álvarez (16 years old), Leroy Hernández Escalona (17 years old), and José Ángel Borrero (17 years old).
Three of them —Ander Magdiel del Toro Suárez, José Jorge Menéndez Vázquez, and José Ángel Borrero— were arrested in June following the fire at the Maffo Museum in Contramaestre, which occurred on June 21 in the context of protests against blackouts and shortages in Santiago de Cuba.
The three remain confined in the State Security center known as Versalles, in Santiago de Cuba, as confirmed by activist Anamely Ramos.
In the same facility is Cristian Fernández Sarmiento, 16 years old, who was also detained in June during protests in the Altamira neighborhood, having been held for more than a month.
His grandmother, Soraya Cardosa, 83 years old, publicly reported that the teenager has lost a considerable amount of weight and that the authorities refuse to provide information about the process.
The most alarming case due to the age of the detainee is that of Alex Javier Hernández González, who is only 13 years old, the youngest documented currently by Cubalex.
He was violently arrested on July 22 during protests in Santiago de las Vegas, Havana, first transferred to the Calabazar police station and then to the juvenile detention center known as El Combinadito.
According to Cuban legislation itself, individuals under the age of 16 are not criminally liable and should not be in detention centers, but rather in what are referred to as Comprehensive Training Schools.
Cristian de Jesús Crespo Álvarez, 16 years old, has been imprisoned since March in the Canaleta prison in Ciego de Ávila, following the protests in Morón.
In June, he was diagnosed with hepatitis, and the penitentiary authorities informed his family that he would not be transferred to a hospital for specialized care.
The adolescent with the longest time deprived of freedom is Leroy Hernández Escalona, 17 years old, arrested in September 2025 in Maniabón, Puerto Padre municipality, Las Tunas, while participating in a peaceful protest, and who remains in provisional detention.
Cubalex warns that these cases "evidence the continuity of a state action pattern characterized by the criminalization of adolescents in protest contexts, the use of severe criminal charges, and the systematic restriction of due process guarantees."
The seven cases add to that of Jonathan David Muir Burgos, who was 16 years old at the time of his arrest and spent more than three months incarcerated in Canaleta following the protests in March in Morón.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights granted precautionary measures in April, considering that their life, integrity, and health were at risk while under the custody of the Cuban state; they regained their freedom at the end of June.
According to data from Prisoners Defenders, as of July 9, Cuba had 1,306 political prisoners, including 40 minors, of which 16 remained incarcerated in adult prisons, a figure that represents a historic record of repression.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child had already raised concerns in 2022 about the detention of children as young as 13 in Cuba, nighttime arrests, isolation, prolonged interrogations, and the absence of a juvenile justice system in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Related videos:
Filed under: