Summary
Saylí Navarro Álvarez is experiencing stomach problems and difficulty tolerating food at La Bellotex prison in Matanzas.
Navarro remains without a specialized diagnosis that would allow him to determine the origin of his symptoms and receive the corresponding treatment.
Cubalex demands that she undergo all necessary examinations and be transferred to a hospital outside the prison if required to determine the cause of her condition.
Cubalex received information about the deteriorating health of the political prisoner Saylí Navarro Álvarez, confined in the La Bellotex women's prison, in the province of Matanzas.
Navarro currently presents stomach problems and difficulty tolerating food. According to the information received, meals cause her discomfort, and so far she does not know the cause of these symptoms nor does she have a definitive medical diagnosis that would allow her to determine the origin of her condition.
The situation is especially worrying because, since May 2026, The prison does not have a doctor. The inmates are reportedly being cared for by a nurse, who performs the evaluations and diagnoses within the prison.
The absence of specialized medical personnel prevents an adequate assessment of Saylí Navarro's symptoms and increases the risk that a medical condition requiring attention may remain unidentified or receive inadequate treatment.
History of health problems
The current situation adds to a history of health problems that had already been reported by Cubalex.
In February 2025, Cubalex he warned that Navarro suffered high blood pressure and was receiving treatment with enalapril. Dr. de La Bellotex had prescribed a diet based on natural foods, including fruits, vegetables, and juices, as part of managing her condition.
However, the prison director, Lieutenant Colonel Martha Cristina Hernández Bacallao, He refused to authorize the prescribed diet, even though Navarro's family had expressed their willingness to provide him with food during visits.
In March 2025, Cubalex also reported that Navarro continued to experience health problems and had not yet received the results of medical tests performed earlier that month. On that occasion, persistent constipation was also reported.
This background shows that the Difficulties in accessing adequate medical care are not new for political prisoners.
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More than five months without seeing his father
In addition to the health situation, Navarro was separated from his father for months., Félix Navarro Rodríguez, also a political prisoner and confined in the Agüica prison, in Colón, Matanzas.
Father and daughter remained more than five months without being able to see each other, The visit was delayed due to the lack of transportation between the two prisons. It finally took place last week.
The prolonged separation took place even though both are held in prisons in the same province, since family visits constitute a fundamental guarantee for people deprived of liberty and their families.
Saylí Navarro Álvarez, member of the Ladies in White and promoter of Cuba Decides, is serving a sentence of eight years of deprivation of liberty in La Bellotex for his participation in the anti-government protests of July 11, 2021.
Cubalex demands that Cuban prison authorities guarantee an immediate comprehensive and specialized medical evaluation for Saylí Navarro, which will allow us to accurately determine the origin of her stomach problems and the difficulties she experiences in tolerating food. We also request that she undergo the following tests: all necessary medical tests and examinations and that, if the prison conditions do not allow for an adequate evaluation, she be transferred to a hospital outside the prison to receive specialized care.
The Cuban State has the obligation to guarantee to persons deprived of liberty health care equivalent to that available to the general population and to respond promptly to any deterioration of their health.
Cubalex holds prison authorities responsible for any worsening of Saylí Navarro's medical condition that may result from a lack of diagnosis, adequate treatment, or specialized care.
We demand that their right to health be respected and that all necessary measures be taken immediately to protect their physical integrity and their life.