Niurka Margarita Tabares Valdés, a prosecutor from Artemisa, has been added to the Cuban Repressors List, an initiative aimed at documenting and exposing officials involved in political repression. This information was communicated to CiberCuba, highlighting Tabares Valdés's inclusion in case number 1904 on the reprsorescubanos.com project. Her actions during the August 5 trial at the Guanajay Municipal Court played a significant role, where she demanded prison sentences of 10, 8, and 5 years for political opponents Daniel Alfaro Frías, José Antonio Pompa López, and Lázaro Mendoza García, who are affiliated with the organization Cuba Primero. The charges against them included "Propaganda against the constitutional order" and "Illegal associations, meetings, and demonstrations."
Politically Motivated Trial
The project claims that Tabares Valdés engaged in misconduct, following orders from the political police to enforce harsh and unjust sentences. The accused were alleged to have received foreign funding and directives for distributing anti-government leaflets, a narrative allegedly designed to mask the presence of internal dissent against a regime facing the worst socioeconomic crisis in its recent history.
According to the Penal Code effective since December 2022, "Propaganda against the constitutional order" is criminalized, carrying a penalty of three to ten years of imprisonment for inciting against social order, international solidarity, or the socialist state through oral or written means. Human rights organizations argue that this provision has become a tool of repression, used to punish even opinions expressed on social media.
Documenting Repression
The Cuban Repressors project collects and publishes data on officials who, according to its promoters, undermine personal integrity by using the judicial or administrative apparatus for political purposes. Their stated goal is to "shame and expose" those who issue life-ruining sentences while reminding them that the option to say "NO" always exists.
Back in June, Matanzas prosecutor Ana Lilian Caballero Arango and PNR officer María Juantorena Herrera were similarly added to the list for their involvement in the cases of academics Alina Bárbara López Hernández and Jenny Pantoja Torres. Caballero Arango was noted for unjustly requesting sentences of four and three years of incarceration, later substituted with non-custodial correctional work for the dissident academics, according to the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FHRC). Juantorena, meanwhile, was accused of brutally assaulting the dissident intellectuals after intercepting their rental car on May 18, 2024, at the Bacunayagua checkpoint while traveling from Matanzas to Havana.
Understanding the Impact of Political Repression in Cuba
What is the Cuban Repressors List?
The Cuban Repressors List is an initiative that documents and exposes officials involved in political repression in Cuba. It aims to reveal and hold accountable those who misuse their positions to enforce unjust sentences and suppress dissent.
What were the charges against Daniel Alfaro Frías and others?
Daniel Alfaro Frías, José Antonio Pompa López, and Lázaro Mendoza García faced charges of "Propaganda against the constitutional order" and "Illegal associations, meetings, and demonstrations" due to their opposition activities and distribution of anti-government materials.
How does the Penal Code in Cuba address propaganda against the state?
Under the Cuban Penal Code, "Propaganda against the constitutional order" is a crime punishable by three to ten years in prison for those who incite against the social order, international solidarity, or the socialist state through spoken or written means.