US citizen jailed in Cuba: Still no lawyer and no trial after four months

A US citizen accused of human trafficking in Cuba is serving four months in the prison for foreigners La Condesa, south of Havana, without a lawyer and without a trial. His name is Curtis Snyder and he asks the authorities of his country for help.

On December 9, 2021, his boat was intercepted by the Cuban Coastguard Troops in “international waters, 26 miles north of Cuba,” the detainee assured CiberCuba.

Snyder was born on January 10, 1967, in Indiana, but resides in Florida. He has worked as a captain of a skiff boat for 22 years, in a family business founded by his parents three decades ago.

He was detained beyond the 12 miles that mark the territorial limit of Cuban waters, and outside the 24 miles that, according to Law Decree 158, set the contiguous limit of operations to undertake control measures in the prevention of crimes and preservation of the environment.

“I was arrested for human trafficking and 20 other people in my boat, [after an] unlawful search of my boat," said the sailor. "The people were out of sight in my cabin, so they had no reason to search my boat”, he added.

Once detained, he was taken to the Technical Department of Investigations in Havana (DTI), where he was held for a month without the right to receive consular assistance, according to his statements. After that time, he was transferred to La Condesa, in the Mayabeque province.

“When I was in the DTI, the embassy didn't come to see me for 30 days. They [the officials] say that they’ have been trying to see me… but the investigators told them twice that I was detained at the DTI in Havana. Then they came to see me on February 10 in Condesa," Snyder said.

According to article 348 of the current Cuban Criminal Law, "whoever enters the national territory using a ship or aircraft or by other means of transport with the purpose of carrying out unlawful departure of persons, incurs a sanction of ten and up to twenty years of deprivation of liberty”.

The penalty can be increased to 30 years or life in prison if the accused commits violence, uses weapons, endangers the lives of people or if there are minors involved.

Official version

It has not been possible to access the specific report of Snyder's arrest, nor are official details known about the capture of the type of boat that the captain owned. There was, however, mention in the official Cuban press of a US citizen in custody associated with human trafficking operations.

An announcement from the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), which was reproduced by both state and accredited media in Cuba, assures that on December 10 - one day after Snyder's arrest - the Maritime Coordinating Center for Search and Rescue of Coastguard Troops had received a call for help coming from a boat in danger in the vicinity of the town of Santa Cruz del Norte, in Mayabeque province.

It was a “semi-sunken speedboat, with United States registration FL 7176SU, overloaded with people, in adverse hydrometeorological conditions with sea force three. As a result of these actions, two minors were rescued, as well as seven women and 14 men, two of which were deceased.

Later, at the end of January, the state press again reported another two operations of alleged human trafficking cut short by the authorities. One took place one mile from the Punta Gobernadora lighthouse, in Bahía Honda, province of Artemisa, and the other in the area of ​​Playa El Pino, in the same municipality.

Linked to the illegal emigration of Cubans by sea, from the beginning of 2021 to January 30, 2022, the Cuban authorities seized 20 speedboats, arrested "more than 30 human traffickers, including 33 Cubans living abroad, four Mexicans and an American,” the Granma newspaper reported.

No legal representation

"I'm scared to death and I don't know what to do", his partner, Denise Karafas, also a US citizen, confessed to CiberCuba.

Denise clarified that her partner "has never been in trouble" with the law and that communication with him is difficult for several reasons: "I talk to Curtis when he can call (...) When I talk to him on the phone, he isn't allowed to say anything about his case. So I don't even know when he will get to go to court”.

To the best of Denise's knowledge, her husband "was on a boat and 'ran out of gas.' He had not been charged with anything as of now, but they were people on the boat so (human trafficking) is what I believe the charge may be," she said.

"The weird thing is he was 26 miles outside of Cuba in international waters," she added in clear questioning of the jurisdiction of the Cuban Coastguards troops for intercepting a vessel with foreign registration outside the territorial limits.

The southerner finds it strange that her partner, with so many years of experience as a captain, had not brought enough fuel for the trip, something unprecedented; she fears that he may have been “forced or something” and confesses that she doesn't know what to do.

“I've been told to get a lawyer, then not too. So as of now I'm just having conversations with the guy at the embassy in Cuba who goes to see him once a month”, she explained.

In a telephone conversation with CiberCuba, Denise clarified that the recommendation not to hire a lawyer came from inside the DTI, supposedly from some of Snyder's cellmates before he was transferred to La Condesa. In her husband’s case, there were no injuries or deaths, on the journey or during the arrest. "There were no minors on board, no drugs" either, she maintains.

Cuban legislation does not guarantee legal aid from the outset, although the Cuban authorities insist on claiming the opposite. In fact, the law allows the State to keep Snyder in provisional prison for up to a year without trial.

At the moment, the US citizen has been without a lawyer for four months, according to his wife's statements.

“It's getting really frustrating. I have lost everything because I became the sole provider for the house and… I don't know what actions to take", lamented the woman.

According to information obtained by CiberCuba, there are twenty US citizens imprisoned in Cuban jails. The most notorious case is that of Alina López-Miyares, arrested in 2017 and sentenced to 13 years in prison on charges of espionage.

Consular assistance and request for help

The American citizen claims that he has only been able to communicate with his embassy on three occasions, two of them in person. “I have only seen [representatives from] my embassy twice,” he said, referring to two visits to the prison by officials from the US diplomatic mission in Havana. "Both people told me they couldn't help me", he lamented.

The third communication that the captain had with his embassy was by telephone. “I called the embassy and contacted my representative here... and asked him to bring me food or anything that could help me. He told me there was nothing they could do for me."

"I can no longer communicate with anybody (…), there is no voicemail (…) My fiancée in the United States, Denise Karafas, has sent emails and letters and they do not respond to her either," Snyder says, which contradicts Denise's testimony that he claims that he is in contact with an official from the diplomatic headquarters.

This could be an indication of how difficult it is to communicate with inmates in Cuba. Denise herself acknowledged to CiberCuba that Snyder is not allowed to discuss anything that has to do with his legal situation with anyone, which violates the rights of the US citizen who is already at a disadvantage for not having legal representation.

In response to questions sent by CiberCuba to the US embassy in Havana, a State Department spokesperson said that Snyder is receiving consular assistance.

"We are aware that a U.S. citizen, Curtis Snyder, is detained in Cuba. We take seriously our responsibility to assist U.S. citizens abroad, and are providing all appropriate consular services".

The lack of communication seems to be a pattern in Cuban prisons, regardless of whether they are Cuban or foreign prisoners, judging by the complaints of other inmates from La Condesa and Combinado del Este.

Canadian lawyer Benjamin Tomlin has been warned “to keep your mouth shut and not talk about these things. You don't talk about your health, you don't talk about the conditions here or your case, otherwise you're going to be marked for severe indiscipline, you're going to lose your phone call privileges and they're going to put you in the isolation cell." he told CiberCuba in February from the Combinado.

Likewise, Hispanic prisoners went on a hunger strike as the last resort in the face of the mistreatment they received in La Condesa, while their Canadian counterparts have also denounced threats after making their legal situation public.

For all of the above, Snyder requests the support of his government. “Citizens of third world nations here get support from their governments…and the most powerful country in the world can’t give any help. They keep telling me there's nothing they can do for me."

Living conditions in La Condesa

“Conditions here at La Condesa are pretty bad”, said Snyder, who is trying to adjust to the deplorable conditions at the prison. “For example, they cut off electricity and water at night and you can't wash your hands after urinating. There is one stove to cook everything and the flies are horrendous, they paint the ceiling black. You have to fight flies off your food when you're eating here."

Snyder echoed the complains that his fellow prisoners have denounced to CiberCuba the poor preparation and the ridiculous small portions of food. "They give you rice every day, white rice, a little piece of bread, something they call soup, water, you might get a spoonful of some kind of vegetables," laments the prisoner.

The MININT did not respond to our message about Snyder's situation and the conditions of the prison.

"There is no one here who speaks English, not one staff person who speaks English. If I get sick I cannot even explain what is wrong with me" he added. As for his physical wellbeing, the unsanitary nature of the prison for foreigners is another cause for concern.

“They have no running water, no seats on the toilets. You have to get the water out of a fifty-five-gallon drum that they pipe in the with pieces of hose that they rig. To fill the water you get one-gallon jug that everybody handles after they pee (…) to flush the toilet,” he said, clarifying that the water is “unsanitized”.

“I fear for my health here and everybody else’s in this place. There is no medical equipment here, no medical training by anybody here and the conditions of living are poor”, he added.