The Cuban writer and former political prisoner, Ariel Hidalgo, shared his harrowing experience in an interview with CiberCuba about the forced labor conditions in the Military Units to Aid Production (UMAP). These camps, established by Fidel Castro's regime in 1965, detained him at the young age of 20.
Hidalgo recounted that the day began well before sunrise: "At UMAP, they would wake you up at four in the morning, give you a small piece of bread and a little milk, then force you to walk for miles. By the time we reached the sugarcane fields, it was already dawn."
The grueling routine continued relentlessly until dusk. "We worked until it started to get dark. We rarely saw the camp in daylight, only at night," he stated.
Inhumane Working Conditions
Inside the cane fields, the air was stifling, and breaks were nonexistent. According to Hidalgo, "When you finished one row, you immediately had to start on the next without lifting your head."
Adding to the physical exhaustion was a severe lack of water. "Hunger was one thing, but the thirst was terrible," he recalled. The canteen would run dry quickly, forcing inmates to drink from puddles. "There was a puddle that you knew was contaminated. But since there was no water, we drank from it," he explained.
The consequences upon returning to the camp were dire: "Many people would return from work, drink water, and faint. Many just collapsed."
Long-lasting Physical and Mental Scars
The physical toll was lasting. "Some people went completely bald due to the conditions. Others, who didn't have gray hair, suddenly turned gray," Hidalgo described.
The UMAP camps operated from November 1965 to July 1968, primarily in Camagüey province. Estimates suggest between 25,000 and 38,641 individuals passed through them, including religious figures, homosexuals, dissidents, and those deemed "undesirable" by the regime.
A specialized book reports 72 deaths and 507 psychiatric hospitalizations among the inmates.
Hidalgo eventually escaped from the UMAP, which resulted in a five-year prison sentence.
The Regime's Denial and International Condemnation
Despite international outcry labeling these camps as forced labor concentration camps, the regime closed them and erased the criminal records of those imprisoned for escaping. "When I checked my criminal record, nothing showed up. It was as if I had never been at the UMAP. Everything was erased," Hidalgo recounted.
The official narrative starkly contrasts these accounts. Mariela Castro, daughter of Raúl Castro, claimed in May 2020 that "the issue of UMAP is greatly exaggerated," likening them to "schools in the countryside."
In 2023, she denied the existence of any "concentration camps" against the LGBT community in Cuba.
Renowned singer-songwriter Pablo Milanés, who was also detained in the UMAP, publicly described them as "a concentration camp," consistent with the Organization of American States' 1967 report of over 30,000 inmates subjected to forced labor, poor nutrition, unsanitary water, and overcrowding.
Understanding the UMAP Camps in Cuba
What were the UMAP camps in Cuba?
The UMAP camps, or Military Units to Aid Production, were forced labor camps in Cuba established by Fidel Castro's regime in 1965 to detain those deemed "undesirable," including religious figures, homosexuals, and political dissidents.
How did Ariel Hidalgo describe life in the UMAP camps?
Ariel Hidalgo described life in the UMAP camps as grueling and inhumane, with workdays starting before dawn and lasting until nightfall, with inadequate food and water leading to extreme physical exhaustion and long-lasting health impacts.