Cuban prisoners forced to work making cigars and charcoal for export to Europe,

[El Presidente]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/15/cuba-prisoners-forced-labour-cigars-charcoal-report

 

Cuban prisoners forced to work making cigars and charcoal for export to Europe, report claims

 

 

 

Madrid-based NGO estimates at least 60,000 inmates subject to forced labour with little or no pay in Cuban jails

Tiago Rogero

Mon 15 Sep 2025 12.01 EDT

 

 

Prisoners in Cuba are forced to work producing the country’s world-famous cigars and marabu charcoal sold to European consumers, according to a new report.

The Madrid-based NGO Prisoners Defenders estimates that at least 60,000 people are being forced to work with little or no pay, under threats, in exhausting conditions and without adequate equipment, with reports of violence including the sexual abuse of female detainees.

The report released on Monday attributes responsibility directly to the Cuban government, describing a “national and institutionalised system of forced labour” across the island, with economic aims tied to export.

The Cuban government did not respond to the Guardian’s requests for comment.

The products reach consumers mainly in the European markets, including the UK in the case of cigars. The charcoal is shipped chiefly to Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Turkey and labelled as “ecological” but is “produced in a state of absolute modern slavery”, the report said.

The investigation began after the UN special rapporteur on slavery, Tomoya Obokata, presented a report on forced labour by prisoners to the UN Human Rights Council in 2024, and Prisoners Defenders volunteered to investigate the issue in Cuba.

Between April and August 2025, interviews were conducted with 53 individuals from 40 prisons, selected through a random sample drawn from a total population of about 90,000 inmates and 37,000 in open-regime detention.

Speaking to the prisoners or their families, the NGO carried out a 61-question survey; to avoid reprisals, all remain anonymous in the report.

The NGO said it carried out a further 60 interviews and cross-checked them with documentary sources, resulting in an estimate that at least 60,000 people are being subjected to forced labour in Cuban prisons.

All of the respondents said they were forced to work “under coercion, threats, violence or reprisals”, 98% without the necessary tools, education or training, and 45% said they “suffered physical violence during work”.

A former inmate interviewed by the Guardian on condition of anonymity said that if a prisoner refused to work, “they put a note in your file. When it’s time for parole or when you might get a visit with your family, they use this as justification to strip you of your rights.”

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Cigars are produced in prisons unbranded, the report says, but are destined for export under ‘all the best-known and most revered brands’, including Cohiba. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian

At the Quivicán maximum security prison, also known as Aguacate, at least 40 inmates reportedly have a daily production target of 60 hand-rolled Habanos cigars – but the quota is reportedly only counted if it meets “export quality standards”.

The report says it confirmed cigar production in at least seven prisons, involving the forced labour of 505 inmates and yielding 11,671,560 cigars a year, equivalent to about 7.5% of Cuba’s total annual national production.

Cigars are produced in prisons unbranded, the report says, but are destined for export under ‘all the best-known and most revered brands’, including Cohiba. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian

It was not possible to determine, however, what percentage of cigars or marabu charcoal exported by Cuba comes from forced labour.

The president of Prisoners Defenders, Javier Larrondo, said it was difficult to know under which brands the goods reached consumers because they were produced unbranded by inmates.

But the NGO states in the report that the production was “destined for export to the global market”, including the UK, and covers “all the best-known and most revered [cigar] brands, such as [the Habanos] flagship brand Cohiba, which Fidel Castro smoked”.

The Guardian contacted Corporación Habanos SA – a joint venture 50% controlled by the Cuban government and 50% by foreign investors, which oversees all Cuban cigar exports – but received no reply.

Of the 53 people interviewed for the report, eight were women: two said they had suffered sexual harassment from officers, and one reported being raped by another prisoner without being offered medical or psychological care by the prison.

The report also states that afro-Cubans – who make up about 34% of the general population but 58% of those incarcerated in the country – were “disproportionately affected”, a point mentioned by a Black former inmate interviewed by the Guardian.

“Most of those sent to forced labour are Black; white prisoners are employed in cleaning military offices and cars – in other words, easier tasks – in canteens, food stores, kitchens, and so on. Racism and racial discrimination are rife in prison,” he said.

The NGO said it had submitted the report to the governments and parliaments of all countries where these products are consumed, as well as to the UN and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Prisoners Defenders says the Cuban government “must be held internationally accountable for these crimes”, calling for the prison system to be opened to independent international missions and for a ban on the trade of products derived from forced labour.

“Cuban prisons are not rehabilitation centres, but spaces of punishment, control and exploitation. And their structural transformation is a debt owed to human dignity,” the report states.

[BrightonCorgi]

Sad. They should be ashamed of themselves to offer prison/slave made items on the global stage. I'd imagine most of the force labor is around marabu charcoal production. Less chance of failure and ramp up time.

How is marabu charcoal?  

[SCgarman]

What a sh*t show it is going on down there. Prisoners forced to roll cigars? Even the best screen writers in Hollywood couldn't invent that script for a movie. I'm sure the "quality control" in them prisons is wonderful.🙄

[JDoughty]

I mean, do they get to smoke some while they work at least? If so, what would it take to get arrested in Cuba? Asking for a friend. 

[Chibearsv]

10 hours ago, JDoughty said:

I mean, do they get to smoke some while they work at least? If so, what would it take to get arrested in Cuba? Asking for a friend. 

I'm guessing you could figure it out 😁

[SCgarman]

14 minutes ago, JDoughty said:

I mean, do they get to smoke some while they work at least? If so, what would it take to get arrested in Cuba? Asking for a friend. 

If the Cuban people are scavenging for things to eat out of dumpsters, how do you think the prisoners in a Cuban jail are treated? Do you think they are on some sort of tropical vacation? C'mon.

[cnov]

@LizardGizmo might be time to update the factory code list...

 

[JDoughty]

45 minutes ago, SCgarman said:

If the Cuban people are scavenging for things to eat out of dumpsters, how do you think the prisoners in a Cuban jail are treated? Do you think they are on some sort of tropical vacation? C'mon.

Probably nah. Things are getting pretty dire for us folks stuck in the US, but not quite that dire. Yet. 

[helix]

Smoking cigars and participating in tourism, indirectly supporting the current Cuban regime, is one thing, but contributing to slave or forced labor crosses the line of what’s morally acceptable, in my opinion.

[helix]

Canada asked to investigate Cuban cigar imports for forced labour - The Globe and Mail

[VeguerosMAN]

Why is it immoral for prisoners to roll cigars without pay? What am I missing, unless the law requires to pay inmates.

[JDoughty]

8 hours ago, VeguerosMAN said:

Why is it immoral for prisoners to roll cigars without pay? What am I missing, unless the law requires to pay inmates.

It creates economic incentive to make and keep more prisoners, irrespective of actual justice. That can be a serious problem. Also, the cigars will probably suck. Aside from the lack of skill, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them put things in them that aren't tasty or hygenic flavor additives. 

[SCgarman]

7 hours ago, JDoughty said:

It creates economic incentive to make and keep more prisoners, irrespective of actual justice. That can be a serious problem. Also, the cigars will probably suck. Aside from the lack of skill, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them put things in them that aren't tasty or hygenic flavor additives. 

Exactly. Do you think murderers and common criminals are actually going to do "honest work"? That is absolutely comical.

[VeguerosMAN]

7 hours ago, JDoughty said:

It creates economic incentive to make and keep more prisoners, irrespective of actual justice. That can be a serious problem. Also, the cigars will probably suck. Aside from the lack of skill, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them put things in them that aren't tasty or hygenic flavor additives. 

I thought the article was about the injustice of the  prisoners in Cuba to work without getting paid. I am sure the quality of the cigars will suffer when they are rolled by unskilled prisoners, but I don't see any problems of inmates not getting paid for rolling cigars. You lose your rights once you enter prison anyway, in my opinion. There are far worst thing you can do than to roll cigars in prison without paid.  

[JDoughty]

1 hour ago, VeguerosMAN said:

I thought the article was about the injustice of the  prisoners in Cuba to work without getting paid.  I am sure the quality of the cigars will suffer when they are rolled by unskilled prisoners, but I don't see any problems of inmates not getting paid for rolling cigars.  You lose your rights once you enter prison anyway, in my opinion. There are far worst thing you can do than to roll cigars in prison without paid.  

It's less about the rights of inmates who are there for legitimate reasons of justice and more about creating economic incentive to make more inmates. Whether there are legitimate law based reasons to have them there or not. That's where the potential ethical issues come in. If someone is profiting when more people are locked up, they will actively try to get more people locked up, including for reasons that are not necessarily legitimate or good reasons. 

[helix]

19 minutes ago, JDoughty said:

It's less about the rights of inmates who are there for legitimate reasons of justice and more about creating economic incentive to make more inmates. Whether there are legitimate law based reasons to have them there or not. That's where the potential ethical issues come in. If someone is profiting when more people are locked up, they will actively try to get more people locked up, including for reasons that are not necessarily legitimate or good reasons. 

Geez, couldn't see the Cuban regime doing anything unethical?🤔

[JDoughty]

37 minutes ago, helix said:

Geez, couldn't see the Cuban regime doing anything unethical?🤔

I mean, it's already bad. With a significant economic incentive to lock more people up to get free labor for a key industry, it could devolve into, "I heard you said something bad about Castro once. Jail for you, jail for one thousand years." 

And that's where the ethical issues come in. Not so much worrying about the rights of prison inmates who are legitimately in jail because they actually did crimes. More worrying about basically innocent people who are more likely to end up incarcerated for reasons of profit rather than crime. 

[Ford2112]

The H Upmann Clavo...comes with a free prison wallet!

[chris12381]

The NGO that released the report is a human Rights organization with a clear interest in generating international outrage against the Cuban government (legitimate outrage, in my view). I therefore would be hesitant to accept their claims without evidence. I have a hard time believing that prisoners are being used to roll, sort, or otherwise handle any part of the process that could impact quality control for cigars bound for export.

Domestic production? Absolutely.

[ha_banos]

3 hours ago, chris12381 said:

The NGO that released the report is a human Rights organization with a clear interest in generating international outrage against the Cuban government (legitimate outrage, in my view).  I therefore would be hesitant to accept their claims without evidence. I have a hard time believing that prisoners are being used to roll, sort, or otherwise handle any part of the process that could impact quality control for cigars bound for export.

Domestic production? Absolutely.

The NGO should be held to account if they are publishing lies. I hope any savings are being passed onto consumers.

[LordAnubis]

So if it isn’t the high prices that have been habanos profit windfall, it’s the slave labour 😁

[BrightonCorgi]

Nike uses forced/slave labor in China. Not much of a complaint on the global stage.

[Vetteman]

Don’t know anything about charcoal, but I’m sure cigars rolled by inmates will be of the highest quality and totally worth the 3x prices currently charged

[VeguerosMAN]

If I was a prisoner, I would rather roll cigars than do hard physical work. How is rolling cigars count as "forced" labor?  

On 9/16/2025 at 5:14 AM, El Presidente said:

The Madrid-based NGO Prisoners Defenders estimates that at least 60,000 people are being forced to work with little or no pay

So it's a human right issue that prisoners in Cuba don't get paid for their work? What prison in the world pays their prisoners?  

On 9/16/2025 at 5:14 AM, El Presidente said:

“Most of those sent to forced labour are Black; white prisoners are employed in cleaning military offices and cars – in other words, easier tasks – in canteens, food stores, kitchens, and so on. Racism and racial discrimination are rife in prison,” he said.

So blacks are rolling cigars while whites are doing physical labor? This is a satire piece.

[JDoughty]

11 hours ago, Ford2112 said:

The H Upmann Clavo...comes with a free prison wallet!

It is usually more highly recommended to take your cigars orally.