Feb 19, 2026, 8:08 p.mFeb 19, 2026, 8:08 p.m
After a prisoner mutiny at a prison in Cuba, security forces cracked down on inmates, according to non-governmental organizations. The prisoners had protested in the Canaleta prison in the central province of Ciego de Ávila against the poor prison conditions and for more political freedoms on the socialist Caribbean island, as the Prisoners Defenders organization announced on the X platform. There was initially no information about this from the government.
The opposition activist José Daniel Ferrer, who lives in exile in the USA, published video excerpts on his social networks that are supposed to show the protests. Shouts like “Patria y Vida” (Fatherland and Life), a slogan of the 2021 protests, as well as whistles can be heard there. Ambulances are said to have been on duty. According to him, according to previously unconfirmed reports, there were two dead and several injured.
Rubber bullets and pepper spray
Relatives of the prisoners gathered in front of the prison, according to the Prisoners Defenders organization based in the Spanish capital Madrid. The police are said to have used pepper spray and rubber bullets against the inmates.
The Documentation Center for Cuban Prisons, based in Mexico, spoke of several injured people who were taken to hospital with head injuries or because of the consequences of the use of pepper spray.
Cuba is in one of its deepest economic, social and political crises since the 1959 revolution under Fidel Castro. The situation has recently worsened further due to US President Donald Trump’s policies towards the island. After Trump’s tariff threat against Cuba’s oil suppliers, the island officially no longer receives oil from abroad. Washington wants to force the communist government of Cuba to implement economic and political reforms. (sda/dpa)