Prisons Took 51% of Cuba’s Logged Repression

CUBA · HUMAN RIGHTS

Published Wednesday, 11 November 2026 · Source: Cubalex, a Cuban rights group; Centro de Documentación de Prisiones Cubanas (CDPC), a Mexico-based prison monitor; Observatorio Cubano de Derechos Humanos (OCDH), a Madrid-based rights monitor

Cuban prisons took the biggest share of the repression logged in October, by one group’s count. Cubalex, a Cuban human rights legal group, counted 154 of the 303 repressive events it logged as affecting prisoners, its highest share of 2026.

Cuba is a one-party state that publishes no prison data, so outside groups do the counting and say their figures are incomplete. Our Cuba news coverage follows the story.

Rights monitors describe abuse and neglect inside Cuban prisons, and none of their numbers can be checked against official data.

What the Monitors Counted

Cubalex says its report for October, covering 1 to 31 October and published on 6 November 2026, logged 303 repressive events. That is up from 298 in September, a rise of 2%.

Of those events, 154 affected people deprived of liberty, which Cubalex calls the highest share of 2026. The September figure for incidents against people in prison was 147.

Cubalex counted 239 victims, against 193 in September, a rise of 24%. Public protests rose from 35 to 48.

Families also denounced interrupted phone calls in prisons such as Guanajay, west of Havana. Cubalex says its figures are an undercount and may be revised.

Isolation Cells and UN Rules

Cubalex’s October report lists 23 incidents of isolation in punishment cells. Cubalex says its figures are an undercount.

The UN Nelson Mandela Rules are the United Nations standards for treating prisoners. Rule 44 defines isolation as 22 hours or more a day without meaningful human contact, and Rule 43 bans indefinite or prolonged isolation as a punishment.

Rule 44 treats isolation beyond 15 consecutive days as prolonged. The Rules are non-binding United Nations guidelines.

Deaths in Custody

In an alert on 8 October, Cubalex counted 10 deaths in state custody and two deaths of conscripts, or drafted soldiers, in military service in September. The CDPC, covered below, counted four inmate deaths in the same month.

What a Mexico Based Monitor Found

The Centro de Documentación de Prisiones Cubanas (CDPC), a Mexico-based group that logs events involving prisoners, published its September report on 12 October 2026. It counted 79 rights violations against incarcerated people and four inmate deaths.

Complaints came from 34 prisons, forced-labour camps and penal instruction centres in 12 provinces and the Isla de la Juventud, an island municipality of Cuba. CDPC says 72 people were affected, 4 women and 68 men, with most records from Camagüey, Havana and Mayabeque.

The most cited facilities were Kilo 8 and Kilo 7, two prisons in Camagüey, and Quivicán prison in Mayabeque. The top complaints were denial of medical care with 27 cases, health status with 26, food with 19, communication limits with 15 and transfers with 9.

Florentino Morono Torres, a political prisoner, died on 20 September in a hospital in Las Tunas after a heart attack in his cell in the provincial prison two days earlier, allegedly without timely care. Reinier Ramírez Domínguez, a common prisoner, died in Calixto García hospital in Havana 17 days after getting an extrapenal licence, a temporary release from prison.

Two unnamed prisoners in Mar Verde prison, Santiago de Cuba province, also reportedly died, which CDPC attributes to lack of food and severe malnutrition. Those most affected in September included Henry Constantín, an independent journalist jailed in Camagüey.

CDPC says its numbers are an undercount, because Cuba gives no official prison data and bars independent observers. Its figures cover September, so they are not a like for like comparison with the October reports.

A Third Count From Madrid

The Observatorio Cubano de Derechos Humanos (OCDH), a Madrid-based rights monitor, released its October report on 6 November 2026. It counted at least 387 repressive actions in Cuba that month.

What It Means for You

Washington’s sanctions order of 1 May 2026 is titled “Imposing Sanctions on Those Responsible for Repression in Cuba and for Threats to U.S. National Security and Foreign Policy,” and it was used again in the latest US sanctions on Cuban oil shippers. Readers in the United States with relatives in Cuban prisons should know that the state gives no official data.

Travellers should also know that Cuba does not publish prison data, so outside counts are the only public picture. For earlier context, see our report on Cuba’s release of 2,010 prisoners.

What Is Not Known

We found no official Cuban response to these reports. No Cuban authority publishes prison death data, so none of the counts can be checked against government figures.

Cubalex and CDPC both call their numbers undercounts. Cubalex says its figures may be revised.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Cubalex report for October?

Cubalex counted 303 repressive events in Cuba, and 154 of them, 51%, affected people deprived of liberty. It calls that the highest share of 2026.

What counts as prison isolation under UN rules?

Rule 44 of the UN Nelson Mandela Rules defines it as 22 hours or more a day without meaningful human contact. Beyond 15 consecutive days it counts as prolonged.

Does Cuba publish prison data?

No Cuban authority publishes prison death data, and CDPC says Cuba gives no official prison data and bars independent observers. We found no official response to the October reports.

Why do the monitors’ numbers differ?

Each group counts events in its own way and covers a different period. Cubalex and OCDH cover October, while the CDPC report covers September.

Sources: Cubalex, Cuba en cifras, October 2026 · Cubalex alert on September deaths · Centro de Documentación de Prisiones Cubanas, September 2026 report (12 October 2026) · Observatorio Cubano de Derechos Humanos, October 2026 report (6 November 2026)