The Popular Provincial Court of Las Tunas issued Sentence No. 10 of 2026 on September 1, which convicted eight political prisoners to sentences ranging from seven to eight years in prison on the charge of "propaganda against the constitutional order," according to the human rights organization Cubalex.
The court, comprised of judges Jorge Luis García Fajardo as the rapporteur, Gilberto Sevilla Castañeda, and Esteban Marino Iser Milton, imposed the highest sentence on Guillermo Carralero López, who was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment.
The other seven convicts —Javier Reyes Peña, Maikel Hill Ramírez, Carlos Manuel Santiesteban Saavedra, Carlos Alberto McDonald Ennis, Enrique González Infante, Pedro Carlos Camacho Ochoa, and Adisbel Mendoza Barroso— each received a seven-year prison sentence.
The ruling states that the dissenters joined the Cuba Primero movement and participated in the recording of videos and the publication of content on social media related to that organization, which the court classifies as a group with "terrorist purposes" whose aim was to "destabilize the constitutional order and overthrow the Cuban political system."
Cuba Primero is an opposition movement founded by Cuban-American businessman Armando Labrador that promotes a peaceful democratic transition on the island. The Cuban regime included it in its list of organizations linked to terrorism in July 2025, a classification that the movement and its founder reject.
The eight defendants spent more than two years in provisional detention following their arrests in March and April 2024, before the verdict was announced.
The oral trial took place on June 30 within the Provincial Prison El Típico, with a heavy presence of State Security agents. The authorities justified this decision by citing a lack of fuel to transport the defendants to the court, which practically prevented family members and independent observers from accessing the proceedings.
In the case of Carlos Alberto McDonald Ennis, who is in a critical health condition, he was released on bail last June before the final sentence was announced.
The Prosecutor's Office had initially requested sentences of between six and nine years, so the final sentences were below the maximum sought by the prosecution.
The Supreme People's Court of Cuba confirmed on August 8 sentences of 14 and 13 years against two other political prisoners also detained in Las Tunas, Ana Ibis Tristá Padilla and Jarol Varona Agüero, on similar charges.
Cubalex warned that these sanctions are part of a systematic pattern: "Sentences of up to eight years in prison for actions related to activism and the expression of critical opinions demonstrate the severity with which any form of opposition is punished in Cuba."
The organization also warned that "these sanctions deepen the persecution and aim to instill fear to deter other expressions of dissent and political participation," in a context where Prisoners Defenders recorded a historic high of 1,207 political prisoners in Cuba at the beginning of 2026.
Related videos:
Filed under: