Dozens of leaflets calling for the release of Cuba’s political prisoners fell over Calixto García Park in downtown Holguín on Friday, October 16, according to a video shared on X by Cuban activist Magdiel Jorge Castro. He said the papers were thrown from the rooftop of the Pico Cristal building.
In his October 17 post on X, Castro attributed the action to activists from Comandos Libres de Holguín (Holguín Free Commandos) working with the Movimiento Alianza Democrática Libre, or MADL. Cubanos por el Mundo has not independently confirmed the groups’ involvement.
The video shows papers drifting down toward the public square as people pass through the area. Castro’s Saturday post places the action on the previous day, Friday, but does not give the time of day.
Activist Ariel Góngora also shared images and video of the action in a Facebook post. He wrote that the leaflets were thrown from the rooftop of the Pico Cristal hotel on the morning of October 16, and attributed the action to the same two groups. The photos show papers reading “Libertad para los presos políticos” (Freedom for political prisoners) on the ground. Cubanos por el Mundo has not independently confirmed the time.
Leaflets demand freedom for Cuba’s political prisoners
The action adds to campaigns by independent activists and civil society organizations seeking the release of political prisoners in Cuba. Calixto García Park is the main public square in Holguín’s historic center.
Prisoners Defenders, a Madrid-based human rights organization, counted 1,351 political prisoners in Cuba at the end of September, a record in its tally. In its monthly report, released October 15, the organization said it added 50 new cases to its list in September, while 38 people left it, most after completing their sentences. The report was by Cubanos por el Mundo.
Separately, the legal aid organization Cubalex documented 298 repressive incidents affecting 193 people across Cuba in September, according to its monthly human rights report, released October 13. Nearly half of those incidents, 147, involved people already behind bars, Cubalex said. The report recorded 17 incidents in Holguín province. Cubanos por el Mundo covered the report when it was released.
Support on social media
Users responding to the video voiced support for the initiative and joined calls for the prisoners’ release. Some said similar actions had taken place in other Cuban provinces, but those comments did not provide specific details that would establish earlier incidents.
Earlier anti-regime messages in Holguín
The leaflet drop follows other reported protests in the province. In late September, Cubanos por el Mundo reported anti-regime graffiti in Holguín, including at Plaza de los Chinos and near the Vladimir Ilich Lenin General University Hospital.
Messages shown in accounts circulated on social media called for freedom and denounced the Communist Party and Miguel Díaz-Canel. According to that earlier coverage, local authorities covered the messages with Cuban flags and deployed investigators accompanied by canine units.
Our coverage has also documented the pursuit of people behind anti-regime signs. These earlier incidents provide context; they do not independently establish who participated in Friday’s leaflet drop.
What is confirmed so far
Posts by two activists, along with video and images circulated online, place the leaflet drop over Calixto García Park in Holguín on Friday, October 16. The attribution to Comandos Libres de Holguín and MADL comes from Castro’s account, and the exact time of the action has not been independently confirmed. The figures on political prisoners and repression cited in this report come from independent organizations, not from Cuban government sources. Cubanos por el Mundo will update this report if new details emerge.
Adapted into American English from our Spanish report, which was updated October 17 to clarify that the date is established but the time of day is not.
