Ilsa Ramos, wife of the political prisoner Yasmany González Valdés, known as "El Libre," reported the critical situation she faces alone in Cuba while caring for her son with autism, whose crises have become increasingly difficult to manage. Meanwhile, her husband remains imprisoned, ill, and, according to the family, without adequate medical attention.
“My child, unfortunately, is going to kill me because I can’t endure so many blows anymore, because I don’t have the strength to withstand this,” Ramos expressed in a video posted on Facebook. With those words, she described both her physical exhaustion and the fear she feels in light of her son's intense crises, during which, she recounted, he hits her, pinches her, and destroys objects in the house.
According to the explanation, the minor has broken the television, the phone, and the glass of the doors in the house. The caregiver who was looking after him stopped doing so after being attacked. Ramos's eldest son also tries to help contain him, but he is not always able to do so.
The situation has become even more complicated since the imprisonment of González Valdés, who, according to Ramos, was the one who best managed to control the child. The woman recounted that she even had to take the minor to a visit at Combinado del Este because she couldn't find anyone to care for him.
A psychiatrist recommended hospitalizing the child, but Ramos is hesitant to consider that option due to the conditions in those centers. "It's like calling it the hospital of horrors," he stated. "Here in Cuba, there is no therapy, there is nothing," he lamented.
The minor also does not attend school due to a lack of transportation and adequate conditions, according to his mother, and he spends nights sleepless because he cannot find melatonin. This is compounded by prolonged blackouts and issues with the water supply. Ramos stated that she has paid up to 5,000 pesos for a water tank.
The family's distress is compounded by the health condition of Yasmany González Valdés, who is serving a four-year sentence for "propaganda against the constitutional order," after being arrested in April 2023 for his involvement in creating graffiti against the regime in Havana.
Ramos reported that during a recent visit, she found her husband with a high fever, without medication and not receiving the care he needed in prison. "I don't know how he is [...] because here they let prisoners die," she stated.
In May 2026, González Valdés enjoyed his first prison leave in three years, during which he published photographs that revealed his physical deterioration. Days later, the authorities revoked the benefit and returned him to prison, a decision that the Cultural Rights Observatory denounced as retaliation for having publicly displayed his condition.
Ramos acknowledged that the accumulated pressure is also seriously affecting his emotional state. "I have a very strong, very strong depressive state because every day... I don’t groom my hair, I don’t take care of myself," he recounted. He assured that he takes antidepressants and feels that his strength is waning.
The report comes at a time when Cuba is experiencing a record number of individuals imprisoned for political reasons. According to Prisoners Defenders, by the end of August 2026, there were 1,339 political prisoners on the island.
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