After months on the run, the whereabouts of leftist Martiño Ramos Soto became publicly known this Sunday, November 23.
MIAMI, United States. – The National Revolutionary Police (PNR) of Cuba arrested “a few days ago” the Spanish citizen Martiño Ramos Soto, a Galician teacher sentenced in Spain to 13 and a half years in prison for the rape and sexual abuse of a minor student, according to a last-minute report from the EFE agency.
After months on the run, the whereabouts of leftist Martiño Ramos Soto became known this Sunday, November 23, after Spain made public the teacher’s file on the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” poster.
According to EFE, the Government of Spain had formally requested the extradition of the fugitive after the Provincial Court of Ourense requested it on October 31.
The National Police presented this Monday an update of the list of the 10 most wanted fugitives in the country and requested help and information. On that list, Ramos Soto is described as “a native of Ourense, 50 years old”, a former teacher and sentenced “to 13 years in prison for sexual abuse of a minor student, through sadistic practices when the victim was between 12 and 16 years old.”
OK with information from Europa Pressthe Provincial Court of Ourense issued an international arrest warrant against Ramos Soto on October 31, once the Galician judicial authorities received police information that placed him in Cuba. At the same time, the court “immediately” requested his extradition, a request that “has already been processed by the Ministry of Justice,” according to sources at the Superior Court of Xustiza de Galicia (TSXG).
The head of the Fugitive Section of the National Police, Fernando González, stressed at a press conference that “the case of Martiño Ramos is particular” and recalled that the fugitive left Spain in July, before a national search order was issued on September 16. The police investigation has proven that, before settling in Cuba, Ramos passed through Portugal, Brazil and Peru.
One of the keys to the case is the absence of an active extradition treaty between Spain and Cuba. Europa Press, citing Spanish judicial and police sources, summarizes the scenario like this: “Although there is no extradition treaty with Cuba, the Spanish judicial and police system is trying to obtain the extradition from the Caribbean country of Martiño Ramos Soto.”
Despite this limitation, Fernando González himself warned that “that does not mean that he will not be extradited” and explained that the National Police asked the Cuban authorities to “extreme surveillance measures” over the convicted person to prevent a new escape.
So far, the information available focuses on the arrest and the process of judicial cooperation that has already begun. There are no public statements from the Cuban authorities on whether or not they will accept the delivery of Ramos to Spain, beyond confirmation of the arrest and the existence of the formal extradition request.
Why was Ramos Soto convicted?
Martiño Ramos Soto was convicted in 2024 by the Provincial Court of Ourense for raping and sexually abusing, for several years, a student of his whom he had known since Early Childhood Education. Various Spanish media, including The Countryhave explained that the attacks began when the victim was 12 years old and lasted until at least 16.
The sentence stated that the teacher subjected the minor to “sadistic” sexual practices, an expression reproduced in the police file and in several court reports. Initially, Ramos Soto contacted her through social networks, posing as a minor, and demanded intimate images and videos before moving on to physical attacks.
In July 2024, the Ourense Court sentenced him to 13 and a half years in prison and 21 years of disqualification from teaching, as well as a restraining order for the victim and the payment of compensation. according to Spanish media reconstruction.
Despite the seriousness of the events, during much of the process Ramos Soto continued to teach classes and participate in public events, which has generated criticism to the functioning of justice and the institutional response to sexual violence against minors.
Life in Havana
Before his arrest, several media outlets had already located Martiño Ramos in Cuba. A report of The Spanish He identified him in Havana, under the identity of “Martín Soto” and dedicated to photography, and described how he participated in workshops and exhibitions and frequented cafes in Vedado.
Europa Press It also noted that Ramos Soto lived and worked as a photographer in the Cuban capital and that he had opened an Instagram account—still active—in which he shared images of the city, using a Spanishized version of his first name and his middle surname.
The Cuban independent media 14ymedioin turn, published testimonies from people who claimed to have met him and located his residence on 27th Street, between E and F, in Havana’s Vedado.
In addition to his profile as a teacher, Ramos Soto was a well-known figure on the Ourense left: he was active in Ourense en Común and became a leader of the En Marea coalition. That political capital and her public discourse in favor of women’s rights contributed, according to testimonies cited by The Countryto the fact that initially part of his entourage questioned the victim’s complaint.
