News · Rights
A 71-year-old opponent says he spent four days in custody without his medication in Havana
José Elías González Agüero, national deputy coordinator of the Unión por Cuba Libre Party, says he was arrested on October 16 without being shown a warrant and did not receive his drugs for diabetes, high blood pressure and a heart condition, according to his testimony published by Martí Noticias and reported by Infobae.
González Agüero, 71, national deputy coordinator of the Unión por Cuba Libre Party and manager of the Emilia Project, said State Security agents took him from his home on October 16 without showing an arrest warrant and did not let him bring the medication he takes regularly. "It was on the third day that they took me to the hospital to have my blood pressure checked," he said, in remarks translated by Yamacoa. He says he suffered a heart attack in March and that, after leaving the police unit, his blood pressure was still out of control.
His family spent several hours with no information about his whereabouts and later confirmed that he was being held at the police unit at Zapata and C, in Havana. During the arrest he was notified of a charge of alleged disobedience. He regained his freedom on October 19 and received a new summons to appear before the police on the 22nd.
According to the legal aid organization Cubalex, the authorities set bail at 7,000 Cuban pesos (about 8.51 dollars), payment of which was delayed because the bank did not open over the weekend, extending his time in custody.
The Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and Press (ICLEP) had warned of the arrest and of the initial lack of information about his whereabouts. The Cuban Observatory of Freedom of Expression, which operates within that institution, classifies events of this kind under the indicator of "abusive use of power" and in its latest monthly report flagged it as the main indicator of violations recorded in September, with 49 mentions. In July it documented complaints of assaults, death threats and denial of medication against the same activist.
Sources: Infobae · Serie Yamacoa: Acciones represivas documentadas por mes (OCDH)
Data updated: 2026-10-23T16:15:00.000Z