Cuba Archive - Case 1130

Case ID: 1130

Title: N/A

First name: Wilman

Last name: Villar Mendoza

Suffix: N/A

Aliases: Wilmito

Name also reported as: William Villar Mendoza, Wilmar Villar Mendoza, Wilman Villa Mendoza

Age: 31

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: Day:30 / Month:5 / Year:1980

Civil Status: Married

Date of death/disappearance: Day:20 / Month:1 / Year:2012

Citizenship: Cuba

Last known address: Calle 3, Barrio La Cuba

Last known city: Contramaestre

Last known province-TOD: Santiago de Cuba

Last known province current: Santiago de Cuba

Last known country: Cuba

Location death-address: Hospital Juan Bruno Zayas

Location of death - city: Santiago de Cuba

Location of death province - at TOD: Santiago de Cuba

Location of death province - current: Santiago de Cuba

Location of death - country: Cuba

Trial held?: Yes

Docket Number: N/A

Sentence details: Sentenced to 4 years on 11/15/2011

Arrest or detention at time of death: Yes

Date of arrest: Day:14 / Month:11 / Year:2012

Imprisoned/Detained: Location: Aguadores Prison, near city of Santiago de Cuba

How long imprisoned/detained: N/A

Death attributed to: Castro regime

Death attribution detail: Prison authorities

Associated Event: N/A

Case description:

31-year old political prisoner who died at a Santiago de Cuba hospital during a hunger strike to denounce his unjust incarceration. He left a wife and two daughters ages 5 and 7. Member of the peaceful opposition group Cuban Patriotic Union (Unión Patriótica de Cuba, UNPACU) of eastern Cuba, he participated in a public protest at his hometown of Contramaestre on November 14, 2011. Detained with nine fellow protesters he was held for 3-4 days and then put on trial ten days later, on November 24th.  In a closed summary process lasting around one hour, the judges refused to hear testimony of a witness in his defense and threw out a brief statement by his wife in his defense. He was immediately sentenced to four years of prison for  "contempt, resistance to authority, attempting against the state" related to a domestic violence charge his wife claims was fabricated. Sent immediately to prison, he declared a hunger strike to denounce the falsity of the judicial procedure. Put in solitary confinement in a punishment cell, he was kept without clothes in very precarious condition and denied water. After contracting pneumonia, he was not given medical care and kept in the punishment regime. It was only after his condition was critical that he was transferred to the hospital on January 13th.  He died a week later of "multiple organ failure due to general sepsis." 
The Cuban regime unleashed massive repression to contain any sign of protest or support for Villar and attendance at his funeral. It denied holding political prisoners and said in a statement that Mr. Villar "was not a dissident nor was he on a hunger strike". 
See more details at www.CubaArchive.og, section "Case Profiles."
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Preso político de 31 años que murió en un hospital de Santiago de Cuba durante una huelga de hambre para denunciar su injusto encarcelamiento. Dejó esposa y dos hijas de 5 y 7 años. Miembro del grupo de oposición pacífica Unión Patriótica de Cuba, UNPACU del este de Cuba, participó en una protesta pública en su ciudad natal de Contramaestre el 14 de noviembre de 2011. Detenido con nueve compañeros manifestantes estuvo bajo arresto durante 3-4 días y luego juzgado diez días después, el 24 de noviembre. En un proceso sumario cerrado que duró alrededor de una hora, los jueces se negaron a escuchar el testimonio de un testigo en su defensa y desestimaron una breve declaración de su esposa. Inmediatamente fue sentenciado a cuatro años de prisión por "desacato, resistencia a la autoridad, atentado contra el estado"; relacionado con un cargo de violencia doméstica que su esposa afirma que fue fabricado. Enviado de inmediato a prisión, se declaró en huelga de hambre para denunciar la falsedad del procedimiento judicial. Encerrado en régimen de aislamiento en una celda de castigo, se le mantuvo sin ropa en condiciones muy precarias y se le negó el agua. Después de contraer neumonía, no recibió atención médica y se mantuvo en régimen de castigo. Fue solo después de que su estado era crítico que fue trasladado al hospital el 13 de enero. Murió una semana después de "insuficiencia orgánica múltiple debido a sepsis general".
El régimen cubano desató una represión masiva para contener cualquier signo de protesta o apoyo a Villar y asistencia a su funeral. Negó tener presos políticos y dijo en un comunicado que el señor Villar "no era un disidente ni estaba en huelga de hambre:.
Ver más detalles en www.CubaArchive.og, sección "Perfiles de casos".
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Sources:

Telephone interviews of January 26, 2012 with Maritza Pelegrino, widow, Jorge Cervantes, head of the Unión Patriótica de Cuba in Contramaestre, and José Daniel Ferrer García, National Coordinator Unión Patriótica de Cuba.  Video testimony of widow, http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yG8Qdnns7Pc.
&#8220;Cuban authorities &#8216;responsible' for activist's death on hunger strike,&#8221; Amnesty International, 20 January 2012, www.amnesty.org.  &#8220;Cuban hunger striker Wilmar Villar dies in jail,&#8221; BBC News, 20 January 2012.  &#8220;Jailed Cuba dissident dies in hunger strike,&#8221; Reuters, Havana, Jan 20, 2012. &#8220;Muere en huelga de hambre el preso pol?tico Wilman Villar Mendoza,&#8221; Diaro de Cuba, DDC, Santiago de Cuba, 20-01-2012.  &#8220;Maritza Pelegrino: 'Mataron a mi esposo, dejaron a dos niñas huérrfanas'&#8221;, EsRadio (Diaro de Cuba), 20-01-2012.  &#8220;Falleci? el prisionero cubano Wilman Villar Mendoza,&#8221; Café Fuerte,19 Enero 2012.  &#8220;Muere el opositor Wilman Villar en huelga de hambre,&#8221; EFE, La Habana, 20/01/2012.  &#8220; &#8216;Jorge Cervantes: &#8220;Nos impiden ir al velorio de Wilman Villar Mendoza,&#8217; &#8221; Redacción CE, Madrid, CubaEncuentro.com, 20/01/2012. &#8220;Disidentes cubanos denuncian detenciones tras muerte de preso,&#8221; El Nuevo Herald, 20?enero?2012. Damien Cave, &#8220;Prison Death Brings Outcry Against Cuba,&#8221; The New York Times, January 21, 2012. Un día como hoy, Comité Internacional de ex-Presos Políticos Cubanos, e-mail of Jan. 9, 2022.

Conflict of Evidence:

Violation Status: Confirmed with primary source(s)

Cause of Death: - Hunger strike

Occupations: - N/A

External Files: N/A

Relatives in Archive: - Parent in Case 346: Wilman Villar

Victim Type: - Prisoner / Detainee: Political cause

Affiliations: - Union Patriotica Cubana (UNPACU)

Other Victims Same Event: N/A

Case Record - Wilman Villar Mendoza