26 Deaths in Custody Reported in Cuba for First Half of 2024

The non-governmental organization Cubalex, which specializes in monitoring human rights in Cuba and providing free legal assistance on the island, has released a report detailing the repression in the country during the first half of 2024. The report highlights that 26 individuals have died while in custody.

The report outlines a context of escalating human rights violations in the first six months of the year, with a particular emphasis on March, which saw more than 40 protests nationwide. During this period, a total of 1,876 repressive incidents were documented, including arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances, threats, physical violence, and restrictions on freedom of expression and religion.

The conditions in Cuban prisons remain alarming, with evidence of torture, cruel and inhuman treatment, and a severe lack of medical care contributing to deaths in custody. Additionally, 137 protests were recorded in the first half of the year, which were suppressed through internet blackouts, violent detentions, fines, and criminal charges.

Escalating Repression and Human Rights Violations

The report highlights that arbitrary detentions often lead to forced disappearances, beatings, and torture. Repressive practices include coercion and threats during detentions and summonses, as well as the fabrication of criminal charges and death threats. Physical violence, bullying, and digital harassment have also been common forms of repression.

Law enforcement has been implicated in several cases of violence, and arbitrary house arrests and surveillance operations have become frequent. Internet blackouts and the blocking of websites have continued to severely limit freedom of expression and access to information. This report underscores the growing concern over the human rights situation in Cuba and calls for international action to address the documented violations.

In August, Juan Eralys Cayamo, a former member of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), died while in police custody in Santiago de Cuba in the early hours of August 16, after being arrested at his home the previous day. Journalist Yosmany Mayeta reported that Cayamo, known as "Olugo," was detained by the police under charges that family and friends denounced as false, specifically for "drug possession."

According to witnesses, the violent arrest took place on 3rd Street in the Veguita de Galo neighborhood around 6:30 PM, when the police stormed into his home and beat him multiple times, both inside the house and on the street. After the arrest, he was transferred to the Criminal Operations Unit in the Versalles neighborhood, where, according to official accounts, he died of a heart attack before being taken to a hospital.

In May, the family of a 28-year-old Cuban man who died while in police custody at a National Revolutionary Police (PNR) unit in San Juan y Martínez, Pinar del Río province, demanded justice for the tragic event. Identified as Luis Ángel Benítez Hernández, he had been detained after setting his house on fire with his ex-partner inside.

Up until February, police violence in Cuba had claimed at least 95 lives and affected 287 people over the past five years, according to a study conducted by the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights and El Toque.