IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1172 
Calling for the release of Cuban political prisoner Silverio Portal Contreras. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 1, 2020 
Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL
(for herself, Ms. SHALALA, Ms. WASSERMAN 
SCHULTZ, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SOTO, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. CRIST, Mrs. MURPHY 
of Florida, Mr. MAST, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. 
KIND, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. PAYNE, and Ms. 
WILSON of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Calling for the release of Cuban political prisoner Silverio 
Portal Contreras. 
Whereas Silverio Portal Contreras is a 57-year-old, Afro- 
Cuban, social activist who has supported various move-
ments in Cuba that advocate for freedom and democracy, 
including the Ladies in White; 
Whereas Mr. Portal Contreras was arrested in June of 2016 
in Havana for participating in a public protest regarding 
the Cuban Government’s failure to repair dilapidated 
buildings that placed the public at risk for harm, and for 
shouting ‘‘down with Fidel Castro, down with Rau´l’’; 
Whereas, in June of 2018, as a result of his participation in 
this protest, Mr. Portal Contreras was prosecuted by au-
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•HRES 1172 IH 
thorities for ‘‘contempt’’, a charge that is frequently used 
to criminalize criticism of public officials in Cuba, and for 
‘‘public disorder’’; 
Whereas, in July of 2018, Mr. Portal Contreras was sen-
tenced to four years in prison after a closed-door trial; 
Whereas the health of Mr. Portal Contreras has rapidly and 
severely deteriorated since being imprisoned as a result of 
inadequate medical care, as well as instances of willful 
neglect and even intentional harm directed toward Mr. 
Portal Contreras by security officials; 
Whereas shortly after being imprisoned, Mr. Portal Contreras 
suffered a seizure that rendered him unconscious after 
having repeatedly requested medical attention that was 
denied for over four hours; 
Whereas as a result of poor medical attention and a failure 
of prison officials to address his needs, Mr. Portal 
Contreras’s life has been placed in danger while in prison 
and he has suffered several transient ischemic attacks 
(TIAs) that have caused paralysis on the left side of his 
body; 
Whereas Mr. Portal Contreras has been the subject of threats 
and physical attacks while in prison, including in May of 
2020 when Mr. Portal Contreras was reportedly left 
blinded in one eye following an attack he suffered at the 
hands of security personnel; 
Whereas Mr. Portal Contreras’ petitions requesting that he 
be released due to his deteriorating health were denied by 
the Government, with one court ruling that ‘‘his current 
state of health is compatible with the penitentiary re-
gime’’; 
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•HRES 1172 IH 
Whereas Lucinda Gonzalez Gomez, the spouse of Mr. Portal 
Contreras, has had no contact with Mr. Portal Contreras 
since June of 2020 and has been refused information 
about his health status from Cuban authorities in viola-
tion of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for 
the Treatment of Prisoners; 
Whereas Amnesty International has designated Mr. Portal 
Contreras a ‘‘Prisoner of Conscience’’, who has been de-
prived of his liberty solely for peacefully exercising his 
basic rights, and has called for his immediate and uncon-
ditional release; 
Whereas, on November 29, 2019, the European Parliament 
adopted a resolution recognizing Mr. Portal Contreras as 
a political prisoner persecuted and arbitrarily detained in 
Cuba, and called on Cuban authorities to immediately re-
lease ‘‘all political prisoners and those arbitrarily de-
tained solely on the grounds of exercising their freedom 
of expression and assembly’’; and 
Whereas, on July 18, 2020, the Inter-American Commission 
on Human Rights adopted a resolution in which it grant-
ed precautionary measures on behalf of Mr. Portal 
Contreras and urged Cuban authorities to protect the life 
and liberties of Mr. Portal Contreras: Now, therefore, be 
it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) calls for the immediate and unconditional 
release of political prisoner Silverio Portal Contreras 
and the provision of urgently needed medical atten-
tion; 
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(2) condemns the politically motivated impris-
onment of dissidents in Cuba and calls for the re-
lease of all those who have been arbitrarily detained 
due to their advocacy for human rights and democ-
racy; and 
(3) urges the lifting of all legal restrictions that 
impose limitations on the exercise of freedom of ex-
pression and association in Cuba. 
Æ 
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