Luis Manuel Borges Álvarez, also known as "El Pollo," who survived the 2022 sinking of a boat by Cuban Border Guard Troops in Bahía Honda, has been on a hunger strike and subjected to punitive isolation for over a week at the Provincial Prison of Camagüey, commonly referred to as Kilo 8. This information comes from a report by the independent outlet Cubanet.
The alert was issued on Tuesday, 25th by fellow political prisoners Carlos Alain Abrahantes Valdés and Nelson Amaya, who managed to make a phone call from within the high-security prison to raise awareness about Borges Álvarez's dire situation.
According to the inmates, on August 21, prison authorities informed Borges Álvarez of his impending transfer to a different section. The political prisoners believe the true intent behind this move was to isolate him from them and other inmates who frequently report on the harsh conditions of their imprisonment.
When Borges Álvarez refused the transfer, he was placed in solitary confinement by the guards, prompting him to initiate a hunger strike the same day.
The health condition of the 48-year-old Borges Álvarez makes the situation particularly concerning. He suffers from type 2 diabetes, gastric reflux ulcers, malabsorption syndrome, and has only one kidney. At the time he began his protest, he was also dealing with an acute hemorrhoid crisis.
This is not the first time Borges Álvarez has resorted to a hunger strike. In November 2025, he was transferred to Kilo 8 as a punitive measure following a similar protest demanding medical care.
Before that transfer, he had been held at the Combinado del Este in Havana for two years and eight months in Section 47—reserved for inmates serving life sentences—without access to medical treatment, medications, or a special diet.
Borges Álvarez was the helmsman of the boat that was sunk on October 28, 2022, by Border Guard forces in Bahía Honda, Artemisa. The incident resulted in the deaths of seven individuals, including a two-year-old girl.
The Cuban regime labeled the event as an accident during an operation against human trafficking, but survivors and families accused the authorities of intentionally ramming the vessel.
Originally from Los Palacios in Pinar del Río, Borges Álvarez lived in Miami before being captured in Cuba following the tragedy.
Two survivors of the sinking who reached the United States in December 2022 insisted that the boat was deliberately struck by the Border Guards and reported being coerced in Cuba to alter their accounts of the event.
Key Questions About the Bahía Honda Incident
What prompted Luis Manuel Borges Álvarez to start a hunger strike?
Borges Álvarez began a hunger strike in response to being placed in solitary confinement after refusing a transfer meant to isolate him from fellow inmates who also report on the prison's conditions.
What health issues does Borges Álvarez face?
Borges Álvarez suffers from type 2 diabetes, gastric reflux ulcers, malabsorption syndrome, and has only one kidney. He was also experiencing an acute hemorrhoid crisis when he started his hunger strike.
What were the circumstances of the Bahía Honda boat sinking?
The boat, piloted by Borges Álvarez, was sunk by Cuban Border Guard Troops, resulting in the deaths of seven people, including a young child. The Cuban government called it an accident, but survivors and families claim it was a deliberate attack.