Political Repression in Cuba: Hunger Strike of Yosvany Garcia Caso

Cuban historian Alexander Hall Lujardo published an open letter on November 28, 2025, to President Miguel Diaz-Canel, denouncing severe violations of his rights and political persecution by State Security, a political police body under the Ministry of the Interior.

Hall, a graduate from the University of Havana, claimed he is facing legal procedures outside the law, including a migratory restriction preventing him from leaving Cuba to pursue a graduate program at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences in Quito, Ecuador.

Despite being awarded a scholarship, he reported that the regime's actions stem from his anti-racist activism and leftist critiques in academic and alternative media spaces not controlled by the Communist Party of Cuba.

Hall's involvement in the social protests on July 11, 2021, has led to intensified persecution, including a travel restriction known as 'regulacion,' which is commonly employed against independent journalists and activists.

He stated that authorities have demanded he incriminate himself, publicly repent for his work, return money received for his publications, and surrender his devices in exchange for lifting this ban. In September 2024, Hall was summoned to Villa Marista, Havana, the headquarters of State Security, regarding a criminal process against El Toque, an independent media outlet.

The Flacso-Ecuador Student Committee has publicly supported Hall, calling for an end to his travel ban and all forms of political persecution against academics and journalists in Cuba and worldwide. Hall's letter also reached Ruben Remigio Ferro, president of the People's Supreme Court, and Esteban Lazo Hernandez, president of the National Assembly of People's Power, highlighting his state of civil defenselessness.

He argues that national sovereignty cannot come at the cost of civil rights and democratic guarantees, emphasizing the need for political pluralism and freedom of expression in Cuba. His case exemplifies the broader issues of human rights violations and political repression in the country, where dissent is often met with severe consequences.