I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG: Political Prisoners Face Death Threats and Arbitrary Detention.

Political Prisoners Face Death Threats and Arbitrary Detention.

Evangelicals’ teenage son unjustly jailed. Protests spreading in Cuba.

Death threats against political prisoners by prison officials, and the arbitrary detention of prisoner of conscience Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara

Artist and San Isidro Movement co-founder Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, imprisoned since July 11, 2021, for “outrage against national symbols,” began a daily 12-hour fast (6:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.) on March 27, 2026. He and fellow political prisoners Daniel Alfaro Frías and Jorge Ayala face explicit death threats from Department 21 State Security agents and provincial prison chief Javier Reboso during a March 21, 2026 prison cell inspection at Guanajay maximum-security prison (Artemisa).

Agents told Luis Manuel they would “kill you here” with the same AKM rifles he had mentioned in a debate about the regime’s military capacity.

“They were provoking Alcántara… they got into an argument and threatened to come kill him with an AKM. They said this was because Alcántara had asked them if they really thought they could repel an attack from any other country using just four AKMs,” explained Alfaro. Faced with this challenge from the artist regarding their military capabilities, the officers responded directly: “We one of those very same AKMs you mentioned—we’ll come here, but we will kill you right here.”
Alfaro was warned that any U.S. intervention would result in prisoners being killed first. Cubalex’s habeas corpus petition—arguing Otero had already served his five-year sentence through provisional detention and good-behavior credit—was rejected on March 23, 2026. Otero’s health is already critical (he is suffering from chikungunya, herpes, parasites, and other infections) and Luis Manuel receives inadequate medical care.

Case of Jonathan Muir Burgos (age 16)teenage son of evangelical Pastor Elier Muir Ávila

Jonathan Muir Burgos

The teenage son of evangelical Pastor Elier Muir Ávila was detained March 16 after he and his father answered a police summons in Morón. The father was released the same day, but Jonathan remains held at the Technical Investigations Department (DTI) in Ciego de Ávila. His attorney filed for a change in precautionary measures, citing the minor’s chronic illnesses and fragile health, requesting house arrest pending trial.

A habeas corpus petition was rejected on March 25, 2026 The case is drawing international attention: U.S. Representatives María Elvira Salazar and Carlos Giménez, among others, have publicly demanded his immediate release. Pastor Mario Félix Lleonart of the Patmos Institute noted that prosecuting Jonathan would logically require trying “all the residents of Morón,” who joined the protests en masse.

A petition is circulating online demanding his release. Please sign and share with others.

Muir Burgos remains detained at the Technical Department of Investigations (DTI) in Ciego de Ávila, alongside 13 other protest participants, according to data compiled by Cubalex.

Yolanda Huerga, of Marti Noticias, reported this afternoon that a source familiar with the case had told them Jonathan Muir was being charged with “sabotage.”

The crime of sabotage—along with other severe charges—was also employed against attendees of the mass demonstrations on July 11, 2021, as part of a forceful penal response aimed at punishing participation in anti-government mobilizations.

Cuban Spring of Fire Protests: Placing the plight of Jonathan Muir and Luis Manuel in context to the rising tension and protests in Cuba

Cuba is experiencing a wave of anti-regime protests, dubbed the “Cuban Spring of Fire” by Journalist Yoe Suarez in The Washington Standard. Sparked by rising repression, chronic blackouts, food shortages, and water scarcity caused by regime decades long neglect of aging power plants. Nightly “cacerolazos” (pot-banging), street blockades, trash burnings, and anti-dictatorship graffiti have appeared in neighborhoods.

Cuban Protesters chant “Down with the dictatorship!”, “We are not afraid!”, and “Freedom!”

Some evangelical Christians have been present in the unrest. In Jaimanitas (Havana), independent journalist and Evangelical League member Yunia Figueredo was detained after leading a cacerolazo on March 10, 2026. Police smashed her phone in front of her young daughters.

An unnamed evangelical pastor in Havana’s Buenavista neighborhood allegedly took part in protests involving cacerolazos and burning trash. Trash is not being collected, is piling up, and residents are resorting to burning garbage to reduce the risk of epidemics. In Morón (Ciego de Ávila province), hundreds of residents marched in protest on March 13–14, 2026 surrounding the police station and Communist Party headquarters. The regime responded with a widespread crackdown.

These developments underscore Havana’s intensified repression against both civilian protesters and long-term political prisoners amid the ongoing and rising number and intensity of protests in the island. Human rights groups warn that political prisoners in Guanajay are in immediate danger. As of March 29, 2026 Jonathan Muir remains detained and Otero’s protest fast continues.

This July 11, 2026 will mark the five year anniversary of the island-wide protests that shook the dictatorship with demands of freedom, and an end to the dictatorship by hundreds of thousands of Cubans.. Those protests were nonviolent, and the Cuban dictatorship responded with deadly force.