The Cuban activist Guillermo del Sol reaches his 66th day on hunger strike this Sunday at his home in Santa Clara, with his heart at the limit and without electricity for five days, in a protest demanding the release of 18 political prisoners, which puts his life at imminent risk, according to a report by Martí Noticias.
The doctor at the family clinic who evaluates him periodically warned that his heart muscle could collapse at any moment, as his body is consuming itself for energy, and the heart weakens as it is digested for protein.
His clinical picture is alarming: blood sugar close to two, blood pressure of 150 over 100, extreme thinness with the skin adhered to the body and visible veins.
A physical deterioration is compounded by the stifling heat without ventilation. "I can hardly sleep because of the heat. This is the fifth day without electricity service," the activist stated to Martí Noticias.
Del Sol suffers from type 2 diabetes, severe hypertension, asthma, heart disease, and thrombosis, pre-existing conditions that make a strike of this duration particularly dangerous.
This is not the first time he has resorted to such an extreme measure. In 2019, he was the protagonist of a 55-day hunger strike that ended with his emergency hospitalization at the Arnaldo Milián Castro Provincial University Hospital in Santa Clara, with a blood pressure of 160 over 100.
The 2026 protest was triggered, among other factors, by the revocation of the extrapenal license of Leonel Tristá García, a prisoner from the 11J sentenced to eight years by the Villa Clara Court and readmitted to the Guamajal prison.
The list of prisoners whose release Del Sol demands includes Mayelín Rodríguez Prado, Donaida Pérez Paseiro, Saylí Navarro Álvarez, Félix Navarro Rodríguez, José Gabriel Barrenechea Chávez, and another 13 inmates. One of the 18 originally requested, Jonathan David Muir Burgos, has already been released.
Despite the pleas from family and friends for him to end the protest, the activist firmly refuses. He also recalled that his uncles were executed and that his father served 20 years in prison for political reasons, which underscores his path of resistance.
The case has crossed borders. On August 19, Spanish politician Rocío Monasterio announced that she will sponsor Del Sol in the #SponsorAPoliticalPrisoner campaign from the Casla Institute, while clarifying that the activist is not imprisoned but rather on a hunger strike at home.
The context is one of unprecedented political repression: according to Prisoners Defenders, Cuba recorded over 1,260 political prisoners in May 2026, a historical record.
"I would rather confront this government with guns than be here melting away on a bed without eating, but in some way, we need to make it known what is happening in Cuba," concluded Del Sol.
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