By Yadiris Luis Fuentes (El Toque)
HAVANA TIMES – “Right now, I feel happy. As a mother, I have suffered a lot from not being with my daughter and for the times she has cried without me,” says Lisdiani Rodriguez Isaac, one of the political prisoners who were released after January 14, 2025.
Lisdiani, along with fellow former political prisoners Donaida Perez Paseiro and Arianna Lopez Roque, was recently released from the Guamajal Women’s Prison in Villa Clara. Her sister, Lisdani Rodríguez Isaac, who was also released this month, had received a one-year extrapenal license in May 2024 while she was pregnant. All had been imprisoned for participating in the July 2021 protests.
In statements to El Toque, the July 11, 2021, demonstrators agree that their releases, far from representing full freedom, are a mechanism of control and reprisal for their anti-government stance.
On January 14, 2025, Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that 553 people would be released “in the spirit of the 2025 Ordinary Jubilee” and following negotiations mediated by the Vatican. That same day, former US President Joe Biden removed Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
More than 170 political prisoners were released between January 15 and 20, 2025. However, according to various organizations monitoring these releases, the process was halted on January 20, the day Donald Trump assumed the US presidency and reinstated Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
The Release
Lisdiani, a single mother, never imagined she would be released on parole on January 16, 2025. According to her, the authorities had denied her this benefit on multiple occasions.
The young woman from Placetas, Villa Clara, was sentenced alongside her sister Lisdani to eight years in prison for protesting. However, her release does not mark the end of her sentence. She must comply with a set of conditions or risk being sent back to prison.
At the prison administration office, she was informed that she could not post on social media, that she had to work, and that if she did not “remain quiet,” she would be sent back to prison.
“It’s really sad. And it still is, because I know they are going to put me back in prison,” she said.
Donaida Perez Paseiro, leader of the Free Yorubas of Cuba Association, was also threatened to prevent her from engaging in activism. Donaida had also been sentenced to eight years in prison.
“We know this is just conditional parole, not a pardon. We have always been the regime’s bargaining chip. They have threatened me, but I will not be silent. I will continue doing interviews, making videos, and if I have to go back to prison, I don’t care,” she told El Toque from Placetas, Villa Clara.
Donaida’s husband, Loreto Hernandez, remains in prison despite suffering from multiple illnesses and having a delicate health condition.
Arianna Lopez Roque said the conditions imposed on her upon her release on January 20 are an attempt to silence Cuba’s opposition.
“I did not expect to be released. I was prepared to serve my sentence until 2029,” says López, who is the coordinator of the Julio Machado Civic Studies Academy for training activists and was sentenced to eight years in prison for public disorder, contempt, and assault.
However, her release came with strict conditions limiting her freedom of expression and movement: “We cannot post anything on social media, talk to journalists, or associate with opposition members. But we were July 11 protesters—we committed no crime, and I don’t believe I should have to comply with any of these conditions.”
The activist stated that she is happy to be reunited with her children and remains committed to the fight for democracy in Cuba.
Lisdani Rodríguez had received an extrapenal license in May 2024 during her pregnancy. Initially granted for a year, it was recently extended until the end of her eight-year sentence.
She has also been prohibited from speaking with activists and using social media freely:
“They told me that if I wanted to continue caring for my daughter until my sentence expired, I could not post anything or associate with counterrevolutionaries. But to me, the counterrevolutionaries are them… I’m happy, but not completely. I can be with my daughter, but I’m still under their control, and I will not be silent.”
What Are the Conditions Like in Guamajal Women’s Prison?
The testimonies consistently describe the conditions in Guamajal Women’s Prison as extremely precarious and inhumane.
In January 2024, Barbara Isaac (the mother of Lisdiani and Lisdani) reported that Lisdani was being pressured to have an abortion while imprisoned at Guamajal.
At the time, the young woman was a little over eight weeks pregnant. Several feminist platforms and human rights organizations condemned the authorities for state-sponsored violence against her.
While in prison, the 26-year-old was never seen by a gynecologist and recalls the lack of empathy from the prison staff.
“My experience in prison was terrible. They had no empathy. At the beginning, I had dengue, and I thought my baby wouldn’t survive. I barely ate; the food was very poor, and they wouldn’t provide me with medical care.
One time, I needed a transvaginal ultrasound, and there were no gloves. When I finally got them, the doctor told me that she wouldn’t do it, with or without gloves. I know it was retaliation for being a political prisoner,” she recounted.
Medical care in Cuban prisons is nearly nonexistent. Each month, the Cuban Prisons Documentation Center publishes a report exposing the harsh reality for inmates who fall ill behind bars.
Donaida Pérez also suffered from poor medical attention at Guamajal Women’s Prison. In October 2024, she began showing symptoms of the Oropouche virus and was not taken to a hospital, according to her family.
Speaking with our platform, Donaida mentioned that she suffers from hypertension and bone problems. The medications she needs were being sent by her brother-in-law and her son, the latter of whom left the country due to pressure from political police.
Arianna Lopez also highlighted how imprisonment affected her health:
“I have asthma, but I hadn’t had an attack since childhood. In prison, I developed severe bronchial asthma due to the conditions there. My health deteriorated, and I also lost my vision.”
The Cuban prison system is precarious for all inmates, but political prisoners suffer greater discrimination and mistreatment. Those imprisoned for their beliefs are among the most vulnerable groups in prison.
According to Lisdiani Rodríguez, political prisoners at Guamajal faced heightened harassment from prison staff, including threats and physical abuse. She recounted that their phone calls were monitored and that prison authorities had to get approval from State Security before allowing family visits, conjugal visits, or medical appointments.
“They would say: ‘Yes, she can go on leave’; ‘No, she can’t make a phone call.’ They were the ones who always decided,” she said.
Lisdiani was subjected to multiple assaults. Last October, she was beaten inside an office at the prison, prompting several inmates at Guamajal Women’s Prison to protest the abuse.
According to Justicia 11J, approximately 35 female political prisoners remain behind bars. Many of them participated in the July 11, 2021, protests and other protests in subsequent years.
First published in Spanish by El Toque and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.
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