Havana Cuba. – Cuban political prisoner Carlos Manuel Pupo Rodríguez, 70, is recovering from pneumonia at the Abel Santamaría Provincial Hospital in Pinar del Río, where he was admitted on January 23.
As reported to CubaNet relatives and other close friends, the opponent was urgently transferred from prison 5 1⁄2 in the western province to the hospital, after fainting while “talking about the freedom of Cuba with other common prisoners.”
“Through a phone call, the ward doctor stated that Pupo had pneumonia, and that they were treating him with cefazolin in a vein and complete rest,” he reported. Jose Elias Agueroacting coordinator of the Union for Free Cuba Party (PUNCLI).
By telephone, on the 26th, the opponent denounced that the prison authorities had locked them in a small and humid cell together with other prisoners with symptoms of respiratory diseases.
“They put other prisoners here with a cold and a tremendous cough, smoking cigars and figs in front of me,” said the activist.
The body of the political prisoner is weakened as a consequence of a hunger strike which he carried out for 36 days, between the end of August and mid-October 2022, with the aim of obtaining a review of his case and asking for justice for those detained on July 11 and 12.
“The strike left several consequences that worsen his condition,” said Hanet Rodríguez Bulnes, daughter of the opponent. “His condition is now delicate because he has quite severe pneumonia. He had been incubating the bacteria for several days and since he did not receive medical attention it got worse, until he fainted ”.
As an aggravating circumstance, Rodríguez Bulnes denounced that, since he was imprisoned, his father has not received adequate food and the regime exposes him to unfavorable conditions for his health.
“Thank God now they are taking medication and, for the first time in a long time, they are treating his blood pressure and diabetes problems,” Rodríguez Bulnes added.
Carlos Manuel Pupo Rodríguez is one of the oldest political prisoners on the island. He was arrested on July 11, 2021 in the town of San Antonio de los Baños, Artemisa province, for joining the peaceful protests that took place that day.
Last May he was prosecuted for the crime of public disorder, and sentenced to six years in prison.
At the time of his arrest, the opponent led the PUNCLI. In addition, together with the doctor Oscar Elias Biscet He was one of the promoters of the Emilia Project.
