It has been reported that the Cuban judge who sanctioned political prisoners in Cuba currently lives in Tampa.

Amalio Alfaro Matos, former president of the Criminal Chamber of the Guantánamo Provincial People's Court, is currently residing in Tampa after sentencing several political prisoners on the island.

According to a family member who prefers anonymity, the former Cuban judge arrived in the U.S. through humanitarian parole on April 12, 2023, and is currently awaiting approval of his application for permanent residency after invoking the Cuban Adjustment Act. The source explains that the jurist is somewhat concerned given that, despite the time that has passed, he has not received any response from U.S. authorities.

Another person who denounced his presence in the United States and who suffered unjust sanctions from the jurist while living in Cuba was Roberto de Jesús Quiñones Haces, who was sentenced in 2019 to one year in prison for alleged crimes of disobedience and resistance, which he was charged with after covering the trial of two evangelical pastors.

"He denied me protection, even though I filed an appeal. An appeal was never allowed, a fundamental right for any accused," the sanctioned man said in an interview with Martí Noticias, showing evidence of his complaint. The journalist believes the jurist's mere presence in the United States is a challenge to Cuban exiles abroad.

"This isn't just my case. This is what Florida represents for those who have suffered imprisonment, repression, and exile. It's not fair that someone who acted as a repressor and has never apologized lives here comfortably, while the truly persecuted remain trapped on the island," the reporter denounced during the interview.

It is known that Alfaro began his career as a lawyer at the Baracoa Collective Law Firm, but he was soon incorporated into the judging system at the municipal and then provincial levels, thus becoming one of the strictest judges against Cuban dissidents in eastern Cuba.

Quiñones Haces also criticized how the Cuban judicial system aligns itself with the sole party and the regime's repressive bodies, violating all procedures and the constitution itself. "In Cuba, there is no due process. The courts are subordinate to the Communist Party and State Security," he stated.

The president of the non-governmental organization Prisoners Defenders, Javier Larrondo, verified Alfaro Matos' actions in Cuba, providing documentary evidence of the conviction of Cuban opposition leader Eider Frómeta Allen, promoter of the #YoVotoNo campaign in 2019 in the country's easternmost province.

Frómeta Allen suffered a process manipulated by the dictatorship, where beatings, lack of medical care, and disciplinary sanctions that included transfers to other centers to prevent him from communicating with his family were part of the inmate's daily routine, according to Larrondo. "His health is critical. His mother has publicly denounced his deteriorating condition, and his wife has been threatened by regime agents to make her leave him," Javier confirmed.

Cuban-American Congressman Carlos Giménez, in a U.S. Congressional hearing, questioned Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem about the measures the Trump administration will take regarding the presence of Cuban regime repressors residing peacefully in the country and who entered through various channels, including humanitarian parole.

In her response, the secretary stated that she is aware that programs implemented under previous administrations have been flawed, and that the government is working to restore the integrity of the system.

Quiñones believes Alfaro's case is not an isolated one, as it involves hundreds of repressors from different Cuban state agencies who are in the United States, including PCC militants, State Security agents, judges, and prosecutors from the island's judicial system who have never faced the consequences of serving the Cuban government.

“Justice must prevail. It cannot be that those who denied freedoms live under its protection today,” Quiñones Haces stated. He also mentioned the case of religious leaders Ramón Rigal and Aida Expósito, who were sentenced to 11 months in prison for choosing to homeschool their children, in accordance with their beliefs. The decision was confirmed by Alfaro Matos. While the leaders remain in Cuba, those who harassed them live comfortably in Florida.

He mentioned that a key witness in that trial was Anabel Campos Castro, who was the director of a Youth Computer Club in Guantánamo and now resides in the United States as if nothing had happened. The news site contacted Alfaro Matos for answers to some questions, but received no response.

“I don't harbor hatred, but I do harbor deep frustration. There are many people who deserve to be in the United States and haven't been able to get there. Meanwhile, those who condemned them for thinking differently are already here,” Quiñones lamented in the interview.