Zoila Esther Chávez, the 84-year-old mother of imprisoned Cuban journalist and dissident José Gabriel Barrenechea, passed away on Sunday without being allowed to say goodbye to her son. Activists and civil society groups have denounced the Cuban government for what they call a deliberately cruel act, emblematic of broader repression on the island.
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Chávez had been in critical condition, suffering from metastatic cancer and declining rapidly after her son’s arrest in November 2024. According to those close to the family, she had lost the ability to speak in her final days and was breathing faintly when she passed. Despite calls from activists and rights organizations, authorities did not permit Barrenechea, her only caregiver, to visit her.
“Zoila has died without seeing her son. We’ve witnessed once again the cruelty of this regime,” said activist Yamilka Lafita, also known as Lara Crofs. “No forgiveness. No forgetting.”
Barrenechea, a writer and independent journalist, was detained for participating in a peaceful protest against power outages during Cuba’s worsening energy crisis. His arrest has been deemed arbitrary by multiple human rights organizations, including Cubalex and Cuido60, who have called for his immediate release.
In April, Chávez released a heart-wrenching statement from her home in Santa Clara, pleading with the authorities to allow her to see her son.
“Sometimes I feel unwell, I lock the door out of fear… All I ask is to see my son walk through that door before I die,” she said through tears. Her message was widely shared online but ignored by officials.
Activists say the government not only disregarded Chávez’s final wish but also failed to provide her with the medical and emotional support she needed. Her son’s imprisonment left her isolated and vulnerable, a situation that accelerated her physical and emotional decline.
José Gabriel Barrenechea remains held in La Pendiente Prison, facing charges of contempt, disobedience, and “enemy propaganda”—a set of accusations routinely used by the Cuban state to criminalize dissent. He has not been tried in court, and no transparent legal proceedings have been initiated.
Civil society groups inside and outside Cuba have renewed calls for his immediate release and for international pressure to be increased against the Cuban regime.
The international community, they argue, must not remain silent in the face of cases like this.
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