Wilber Aguilar Bravo reported on Saturday that he has accumulated, according to his own count, 108 days without being able to see his son Walnier Luis Aguilar Rivera, a political prisoner from 11J imprisoned at Nieves Morejón prison in Guayos, Sancti Spíritus.
In a Facebook post, the father described how prison authorities not only prevent visits but also block the delivery of food, soap, and deodorant to the young man, who is held more than 300 kilometers away from his home in Havana.
"We have had to turn our pain into strength. We continue to hold on to the truth," wrote Aguilar Bravo, who also sent a direct message to those who remain silent in the face of repression: "To all the accomplices and those who turn their heads to avoid seeing our pain."
The pattern of harassment against the family is systematic and documented. On August 30, the family traveled from Havana, arrived at the prison at seven in the morning after more than 24 hours without sleep, and waited until eleven, when officials informed them that the visit "was not coordinated" and had to be arranged with State Security in the capital. Weeks later, Wilber traveled again to Sancti Spíritus and was rejected once more, then reporting 84 days without contact with his son.
The dictatorship is using Walnier's own prison benefits as leverage: authorities have explicitly warned the family that Wilber's activity on social media is detrimental to the young man inside the prison.
The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights documented at least six repressive actions against Wilber Aguilar during 2026, including summons for interrogation for him, his wife Rosario Rivera Román, and his son Wagner, police surveillance in front of his home and episodes in which agents prevented him from leaving his residence.
Walnier, born on February 13, 2000, was arrested on July 20, 2021—nine days after the protests of July 11— for participating in the demonstrations in the neighborhood of La Güinera, Arroyo Naranjo. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison for sedition; following an appeal, the sentence was reduced to 12 years.
His family and human rights organizations report that he has an intellectual disability bordering on organic brain injury, a condition documented by specialists that the court ignored when issuing its ruling.
According to his father, Walnier is the only one of the 17 co-defendants in his case who remains incarcerated, after the releases of prisoners from the 11J events in 2025 and 2026 excluded him from any process of liberation.
The organization Ciudadanía y Libertad supported the complaint and demanded that family contact be restored, that restrictions within the prison cease, and that the young man be released. "No parent should spend months without being able to embrace their child for exercising their rights," the organization stated.
The case has international backing: the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights granted precautionary measures to Walnier in July 2022 and extended protection to his father and family unit in January 2025. In November of that year, the Embassy of the United States in Cuba publicly denounced the abuses against the young man and demanded his immediate release.
The case of Walnier is part of a broader context of sustained repression: according to the interactive list published by Cubalex, Cuba currently has 677 documented political prisoners, while Prisoners Defenders recorded 1,351 at the end of September 2026.
"Freedom for my son Walnier, freedom for all political prisoners, peace for Cuban families," concluded Aguilar Bravo in his Saturday post, with the same phrase he has been repeating since his son has been imprisoned for five years.
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