Prisoners Defenders

On 30 June 2026 Prisoners Defenders reported more than 175 new political prisoners logged in the first half of 2026, 114 of them for protest, association or expression, including 9 minors aged 15 to 17, and projected its live list past 1,300 once June closed . The half-year figures, single-sourced to the group pending independent corroboration, extend the record-setting trajectory its monthly census had already established.

Prisoners Defenders, a Spain-based NGO focused specifically on Cuban political prisoners, has established itself as a primary data source for the international community seeking to verify the Cuban government's amnesty claims in 2026. Its April 2026 census recorded 1,260 political prisoners, a new record high, up from 1,250 at end-March, even as Cuba continued announcing pardon waves publicly framed as acts of indulgence. The count stands at 1,260 pending the overdue May 2026 release, which had not been published as of 4 June.

Founded by Cuban dissidents in exile, Prisoners Defenders compiles its data through a network of on-island contacts and family members of detained individuals. Its core output is a regularly updated list of political prisoners cross-referenced against government release announcements. This named-case-registry methodology enabled the organisation to confirm, alongside OCDH and Amnesty International, that neither the March 2026 (51 prisoners) nor April 2026 (2,010 prisoners) amnesty waves included any individuals jailed for political offences.

The NGO's work gains particular relevance because the US and EU have made prisoner releases a stated condition for any sanctions adjustments. When Prisoners Defenders and OCDH both confirm that political prisoners remain detained and that the count is growing, that finding directly informs OFAC decision-making, congressional pressure from Florida Republicans, and EU conditions attached to the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement. Its register is the authoritative reference in any future context where Cuba's political-prisoner record is scrutinised by international bodies.