IACHR grants precautionary measures in favor of Duannis Dabel León Taboada and Yenisey Taboada Ortiz in Cuba

January 22, 2026

Washington, DC—The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued Resolution 5/2026 on January 19, 2026, to grant precautionary measures in favor of Duannis Dabel León Taboada and Yenisey Taboada Ortiz in Cuba, in the belief that they face a serious, urgent risk of suffering irreparable harm to their rights to life, personal integrity, and health.

According to the request for these precautionary measures, León Taboada was deprived of liberty on July 16, 2021, after taking part in protests. He is allegedly suffering violence, a lack of adequate medical care, and inadequate conditions of detention. His mother, Taboada Ortiz, is allegedly being subjected to threats by officers of the State. The State failed to provide information to the IACHR on this issue.

After assessing the legal and factual allegations made by the party who requested these precautionary measures, the IACHR found that, as long as León Taboada is in State custody in the conditions described in the request, the risks he faces are likely to persist and get worse over time. The IACHR is concerned about the lack of information regarding immediate medical care or other interventions that might improve the beneficiary’s deteriorating health.

In the case of Taboada Ortiz, the IACHR noted that the threats made against her by officers of the State are evidence of risks that might materialize at any time, given Cuba’s current context. The IACHR did not receive from the State any information about the measures that might have been taken to address the risks that had been identified.

Consequently, in keeping with Article 25 of its Rules of Procedure, the IACHR asked the State of Cuba to take the following action:

1. Adopt any measures necessary to protect the rights to life, personal integrity, and health of León Taboada and Taboada Ortiz
2. Take all measures necessary to ensure that León Taboada’s conditions of detention reflect the applicable international standards
3. Immediately conduct a comprehensive medical examination of León Taboada’s current physical and mental health condition and ensure that he has timely access to the specialist medical care and/or treatment he needs, as well as notifying his family and representatives of the results of this examination and care
4. Ensure that León Taboada is not subjected to threats, intimidation, assault, and other forms of violence inside penitentiary facilities
5. Take any measures necessary, with a gender perspective, to enable Taboada Ortiz to do her work as a human rights defender without being subjected to threats, harassment, intimidation, or any other forms of violence for doing such work
6. Come to an agreement with the beneficiaries and their representatives concerning any measures that need to be taken
7. Report on any actions adopted to investigate the alleged events that gave rise to the adoption of these precautionary measures, in order to prevent such events from happening again in the future

The fact that these precautionary measures have been granted and their adoption by the State of Cuba do not entail a prejudgment on a potential petition that may be filed before the inter-American system to allege violations of rights protected by the applicable instruments.

The IACHR is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) whose mandate is based on the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. Its mission is to promote and defend human rights throughout the Americas and to serve as an advisory body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR consists of seven independent members elected by the OAS General Assembly who serve in a personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 014/26

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