The marriage of Cuban opponents Donaida Pérez Paseiro and Loreto Hernández García is being pressured by State Security to leave the country, as the only way to be released from prison.
According to Pérez Paseiro's statement to Martí Noticias, two officials, identified as Arturo and Christopher, contacted her husband to demand the arrival of documents from abroad in order to facilitate the couple's departure.
"They know that the day we are released from prison, we will continue our fight for the freedom of Cuba," he stated.
The activist added that the repressive agents pressure them to expedite the procedures, regardless of the country that receives them. In her opinion, it is nothing more than an attempt to prevent both from resuming their political struggle on the Island once they are free.
"I believe it is extremely urgent for us to be exiled from our homeland," he specified. Both remain confined in the Guamajal penitentiary complex in Villa Clara.
The political prisoner Jorge Luis García Pérez, known as Antúnez and brother of Hernández García, confirmed to Martí Noticias that the couple has informed him of the repeated advances from the regime's political police.
"High-ranking officials of the political police continue to press him to expedite the procedures for his release, on the condition that he leaves the country," Antúnez reported.
According to their testimony, the deterioration of both their health and the conditions of their imprisonment have led them to accept leaving, although they would have preferred to stay in Cuba.
"The abject conditions they face have led them to make the decision to choose exile," he noted, specifying that the choice arises from the need to "save their lives, regain their freedom."
In February 2022, Pérez Paseiro and Hernández García were sentenced to eight and seven years in prison, respectively, for participating in the protests on July 11, 2021, in Placetas, Villa Clara.
The activist was released in January 2025 as part of a group of 553 individuals granted early release measures, but the Provincial People's Court of Villa Clara revoked her parole in June of that year, citing non-compliance with obligations.
Human rights organizations attribute the decision to political motivations, as Pérez Paseiro continued to publicly demand the release of her husband and other prisoners of conscience.
In April, Rosabel Sánchez, daughter of Hernández García, reported the deteriorating health of her father and his partner in Guamajal prison, following a visit where she was able to speak with both of them.
According to the details provided, Lo Hernández García was experiencing severe respiratory problems, decompensated diabetes, pancreatitis, ischemic heart disease, and hypertension. Meanwhile, Donaida Pérez Paseiro suffered from chronic bone pain and very high blood pressure.
Hernández García is the president of the Free Yoruba Association of Cuba; his wife is the president of the same organization and a Yoruba priestess.
It is common practice for the Cuban government to condition the release of political prisoners on their departure from the country. This was the case with José Daniel Ferrer and Sissi Abascal Zamora.
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