The 9/11 protester was sentenced to five years in prison.
HAVANA, Cuba. – Officials from the El Pitirre penitentiary unit prevented some supplies from reaching 11J protester Nilo Abrahantes Santiago, according to what he himself reported by telephone last Saturday from that most rigorous prison center located in the capital municipality of San Miguel del Padrón.
According to Abrahantes Santiago, during the visit on Monday, January 12, when checking the provisions, the uniformed officers removed the wheat flour gofio and several omeprazole tablets.
The protester also denounced that when he rebuked the soldiers – since these were items that he had always been able to receive – the head of the visiting room, First Lieutenant Diogenes, pushed him and suspended his visit. Then, by order of the officer, other soldiers handcuffed him and locked him in a punishment cell until the next day.
Nilo Abrahantes Santiago also emphasized that he suffers from an ulcer and gastritis, which is why he needs to regularly take the seized medication, which does not exist in the prison.
As for gofio, this constitutes essential nutritional support for the inmate, especially taking into account the poor diet that prisoners receive in that prison facility, also known as 15-80.
Precisely, Abrahantes Santiago himself had denounced in January 2025 a reduction in the rice ration from 90 to 45 grams. On that occasion he also described the rest of the menu, namely a poplar broth and some pieces of boiled food.
As a consequence of this precarious diet, the protester had also pointed out, the inmates are malnourished and fall ill frequently. The political prisoner also denounced a fever outbreak in October 2025, as well as a tuberculosis epidemic in December of the same year and caused the isolation of three detachments. In both cases, Abrahantes Santiago had also highlighted the lack of medical care suffered by those infected, as well as the absence of medication in the prison.
Nilo Abrahantes Santiago is 45 years old and is a self-employed pastry chef. He is a native of the Bejucal municipality, belonging to the province of Mayabeque. He was arrested while participating in the protests on July 11, 2021 and sentenced to five years in prison for the alleged crime of sabotage.
