The Cuban activist Guillermo del Sol Pérez, member of Cuba Decides, turns 42 days on hunger strike at his home in Santa Clara to demand the release of the political prisoner of 11J Leonel Tristá and others 17 political prisoners from Villa Clara.
His health has deteriorated considerably, while the Cuban state continues to offer no response to the demands that motivated the protest.
According to statements to the press from people close to him, Del Sol presents a worrying clinical picture, He is suffering from crises related to his diabetes and hypertension. Doctors who have visited him have stated that his reserves are very low and that he could soon collapse completely; however, the opposition leader remains steadfast in his protest.
The hunger strike began in June, a few days after State Security agents arbitrarily detained Del Sol for several hours, accusing him of stealing a moped for which the activist possesses legal documentation. Since then, he has maintained his protest to demand the release of Leonel Tristá and the other political prisoners for whom he is seeking justice.
One of the triggers for the strike was precisely the return to prison of Leonel Tristá, one of the protesters convicted for participating in the protests of July 11, 2021. Although he had been released in 2025 as part of the release process announced by the regime, this month the authorities They revoked that benefit and ordered his return to prison. Guamajal, in Villa Clara, where he will have to serve the remainder of his eight-year sentence.
Hunger strikes as a form of protest against the lack of effective resources
Guillermo del Sol's situation reflects a pattern documented by Cubalex on the use of hunger strikes in Cuba as last resort in the face of the lack of effective mechanisms to claim rights.
From a technical perspective, a hunger strike consists of the deliberate and voluntary refusal to eat—and sometimes also drink, in the case of a thirst strike—in order to achieve a specific demand, whether personal, legal, or political. Unlike other forms of protest, its duration is indefinite: it ends only when the hunger striker decides to end it, when their demands are met, or when death occurs.
In the Cuban context, this form of protest constitutes a manifestation of the exercise of freedom of expression and from right to peaceful protest, protected by international human rights standards. However, it also highlights the lack of effective domestic remedies to report violations of fundamental rights or challenge arbitrary state decisions.
International doctrine identifies this reality as the ineffectiveness of domestic jurisdiction remediesWhen people cannot find independent judicial avenues or effective administrative mechanisms to obtain protection, they resort to extreme forms of protest such as hunger strikes.
A strike from home: greater visibility and new forms of repression
Del Sol's case is also significant because of where he is carrying out his protest. Unlike those who stage hunger strikes inside prisons or police stations, the activist remains in his home in Santa Clara.
Hunger strikes in homes have a different dimension. Since they occur outside the prison system, the authorities cannot formally classify them as acts of “indiscipline”.” prison, so they often resort to other mechanisms of control and repression.
In these cases, it is common to establish permanent surveillance of the home, cut off internet services, create a police cordon to prevent visits from family members, journalists or people showing solidarity, as well as arrest those who try to provide support to the striker or fabricate criminal proceedings for alleged crimes such as contempt, public disorder or incitement to commit crimes.
Precisely because it takes place in a private space that becomes a stage for public denunciation, this type of strike acquires a greater capacity for national and international visibility and reaffirms its character as a civil protest against the State.