The Popular Provincial Court of Villa Clara, in its Crimes against State Security Chamberimposed prison sentences and other sanctions on six Cubans for the alleged crime of public disorder, after a peaceful protest that occurred last November against the prolonged blackouts that affect the island.
According to the sentence, José Gabriel Barrenechea Chávez was sentenced to six years in prison; Rodel Bárbaro Rodríguez Espinosa, five years; Yandri Torres Quintana, eight years; and Rafael Javier Camacho Herrera, to seven years in prison.
In addition, Yuniesky Lorences Domínguez received a sanction of three years of correctional work without confinement, while Marcos Daniel Díaz Rodríguez was sentenced to five years of limited freedom.
According to the ruling, the events occurred on November 7, 2024, during a blackout in the municipality of Encrucijada, in the province of Villa Clara, as reported by the EFE agency.
That day, the accused went individually to the municipal headquarters of the Communist Party of Cuba and the local government “to shout that they wanted electricity.”
Prison for asking for electricity
The court document maintains that The defendants gathered in front of both headquarters and shouted “we want current”in addition to touching metal objects “thereby producing great noise and uproar.”
According to the court, this hindered “the movement of vehicles through the area” and prevented the explanations offered by the authorities from being heard.
The sentence, identified as number 4 of 2025 (cause 82 of 2025), collects as the only recorded cries “We want current!” and It does not mention insults against officials or acts of violence.
Even so, the court considered it proven that some of those convicted incited other people to join the protest, which brought together about 300 people, and to demand “their rights.”
Judges Aimee Caraballé Corrales, Justo Gustavo Faife Hernández and María Teresa Domínguez Rodríguez based the conviction on actions described in the ruling.
Among them, they highlighted that the accused “of their own volition shouted in unison to turn on the power.”
“Although they want to make it look like a peaceful event, it turned out to be the opposite because they did not even let the first secretary of the party in the municipality give an explanation of the existing situation in the country,” the document states.
Convicted persons had no criminal record
In the court’s opinion, the intention of the accused was to “destabilize civic order” and generate “insecurity among the population.”
The sentence is not final and includes the disagreement of all the defenses with the ruling. In Cuba, all lawyers belong to state law firms, said an agency office EFE.
Among those convicted is the journalist José Gabriel Barrenechea, who remained in provisional prison a few days after the events.
During his confinement, He was not allowed to leave prison to visit his mother when she was seriously ill, and was only able to do so later to attend her funeral.according to EFE.
According to the agency, the six sanctioned, men between the ages of 26 and 53, had no criminal record.
The protest took place in a context of prolonged blackoutswhich in large areas of the country reaches up to 20 hours a day for months, as a consequence of the serious energy crisis that Cuba is going through.
