The human rights organization Cubalex issued urgent alerts regarding the deteriorating health of Roberto Pérez Fonseca and Carlos Alberto McDonald Ennis, two Cuban political prisoners facing critical situations without access to proper medical care.
The first remains incarcerated in the Quivicán prison in Mayabeque, where he recently exhibited a high fever, respiratory difficulties, and a significant physical decline.
His brother, the activist Albert Fonse, informed Cubalex that Roberto has shown a slight improvement —the fever has decreased— but the respiratory difficulties persist, worsened by his previous lung conditions.
The family reports that Roberto suffers from acute esophagitis, erythematous and congestive duodenitis, duodenal bulb ulcers, asthma, and chronic lung issues, conditions that have worsened during his imprisonment and after being subjected to punishment cells on several occasions.
The conditions of the prison further exacerbate his situation. According to Cubalex, "after 4:00 PM there are no doctors available in the prison infirmary," and it is an inmate with medical training who guides and assists the sick.
In addition, several inmates at Quivicán are experiencing fever, headache, and diarrhea, symptoms that suggest a possible outbreak of dengue, although no confirmed diagnosis has been made so far.
The Quivicán prison has a documented history of inhumane conditions. In December 2024, the inmate Yosvany Sánchez died there due to lack of medical attention, and in July of this year a mother reported that the prison lacks water, putting inmates with chronic illnesses at risk.
Roberto Pérez Fonseca was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Municipal Tribunal of San José de las Lajas after participating in the protests on July 11, 2021, charged with assault, contempt, incitement to commit a crime, and public disorder. Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience in October 2024.
The second case is that of Carlos Alberto McDonald Ennis, linked to the opposition movement Cuba Primero, released in June 2026 on a bail of 50,000 Cuban pesos after more than two years in provisional detention at the provincial prison of Las Tunas, known as El Típico, without receiving oncological treatment.
Upon leaving, she weighed 48 kilograms and displayed severe malnutrition. During her confinement, she developed a maxillary tumor that extended to internal structures of the head, as well as suffering from diabetes, ischemic cardiomyopathy, and a lung condition.
This Monday was supposed to mark the beginning of his first radiotherapy sessions, but that was not possible. According to the report from Cubalex, the doctors need the images from the somaton—a CT scan—to accurately locate the tumor, but the authorities refuse to provide them, and the equipment to repeat the study is broken.
The organization described this refusal as "a form of punishment that extends beyond imprisonment" and demanded "the immediate release of the somatón images and the cessation of any obstacles that delay their treatment."
The trial against McDonald Ennis and seven other activists from Cuba Primero was held inside the Las Tunas prison, preventing access for family members and observers. The prosecution had requested seven years of imprisonment for him.
Both cases occur when Cuba reached a historical record of 1,327 political prisoners at the end of July 2026, according to Prisoners Defenders, which reflects the extent of the repression exerted by the regime against its own population.
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