The human rights organization Cubalex reported this Wednesday the death of three inmates at the Provincial Prison of Las Tunas, known as El Típico, under circumstances marked by extreme malnutrition, food shortages, and lack of medical care.
One of the most alarming cases is that of Yoandry Cutiño Oliva, 34 years old, from the La Victoria neighborhood in Las Tunas.
According to Cubalex, the young man was approximately 1.78 meters tall and weighed only 32 kilograms at the time of his death, a state of physical deterioration that the organization described as critical.
Despite this, prison authorities reported that he had died of cancer, a claim that the organization openly questioned.
The second identified deceased is José Rivero Consuegra, 63 years old, originally from Manatí, who suffered a heart attack two days before his death.
A third inmate, whose identity was not confirmed by Cubalex, also lost his life due to malnutrition.
The non-governmental organization described the food conditions within the prison as inhumane.
"As a main dish, they are served pasta made with flour that contains worms and emits a strong foul odor," the complaint stated.
According to the information, the authorities eliminated a snack that consisted of bread and soda. In response to the inmates' complaints about the lack of food, the prison officials have stated that they should "drink plenty of water."
The organization warned that these conditions pose a particularly serious risk for those suffering from diabetes or other chronic illnesses that require proper nutrition and medical monitoring.
Cubalex demanded that the deaths be clarified through independent and impartial investigations.
"The Cuban state has the responsibility to protect the life, health, and integrity of individuals in its custody and to ensure them with sufficient and adequate food, drinking water, dignified conditions of confinement, and timely medical care," emphasized the organization, which also called for an immediate response from the authorities regarding the serious risks faced by the inmates of El Típico.
In that prison, the use of torture in the infirmary was reported in 2024, and multiple reports from that period documented malnutrition, insufficient rations, and the absence of minimum conditions for detention.
The deaths reported this month at El Típico are part of a national pattern that Cubalex has been documenting for years. The organization recorded at least 39 deaths in custody in Cuba during the first half of 2026, four of which corresponded to political prisoners, and warned that this figure is an underreporting.
Moreover, areport on forced malnutrition in prisons, published in April by Prisoners Defenders, revealed that the daily diet in Cuban prisons provides between 250 and 353 kilocalories, which is equivalent to 10-14% of the minimum requirement for a sedentary adult, posing potentially irreversible harm to approximately 90,000 inmates.
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