Audio from Mexican Prison: "Let it be known, a Cuban fought for his children and mother, but lost"

Néstor Damián Gámez González, a young Cuban born in Havana on June 26, 1987, is facing his second New Year's Eve behind bars in Mexico. He has been incarcerated since mid-June 2023, caught in a legal quagmire that he attributes to the arbitrary and corrupt practices within the Mexican judicial and prison systems. "I'm imprisoned for loving my children and standing up for my mom. I tried to protect them, but I lost," he shared with CiberCuba in a heartfelt audio message from prison.

"I am a father, a son, who has been behind bars since June 12, 2023, merely for loving my children and defending my mother. On April 8, 2023, at the family courts in Toluca, State of Mexico, my mother was brutally attacked by fifteen individuals, leaving her life shattered. Witnessing her bloodied, taking her to the hospital, and seeing her faint repeatedly was harrowing. She suffered immensely and is now unable to work. Despite this, she's been denied all social aid to prevent her from seeing her grandchildren, my children, whom I haven't been able to be with for four years. I've been fighting for custody, and the only way to deny me the rightful custody was either to imprison me or kill me," he declared in a WhatsApp message to CiberCuba.

Gámez has been subjected to threats and extortions, suspecting judicial bribery, alongside threatening calls and armed intimidation at his home.

Despair Behind Bars

Néstor Damián Gámez admits to CiberCuba that he's nearing a year since attempting to take his own life. His fiancée left him, embarrassed to be associated with a man in prison, and he lost his job at one of Mexico's prominent retail chains, Coppel.

The hardships in prison are overwhelming. "I had to extract a tooth on my own, feeling excruciating pain for a month. One learns to self-heal without medicine," he recounted. The court experience was equally painful, watching his mother weep as judges mocked them despite purported death threats. "They've paid 50,000 pesos to have me killed," he stated.

"This message is for my children. I love them madly. I fought and gave everything for them. I stood against an enormous power, the judicial mafia of this country, to be with them, as a father figure like my mom taught me. I had two fathers, a dad and a stepdad, who raised me with love, peace, and harmony. Now my mom is alone, financially cut off, unable to help me."

Legacy of Love and Struggle

Gámez encourages his fellow Cubans to express love to their family, as tomorrow is uncertain. "I was arrested leaving work, humiliated in front of colleagues. I've been constantly tortured. My embassy withdrew support after I wrote a letter to Díaz-Canel, but once you leave Cuba, you cease to be Cuban. If anything happens to me, as it likely will, I want it known that a Cuban fought for his children and mother, but lost."

Gámez was a manager at a Coppel store when he sought legal recourse to gain visitation rights to his son, then three, now nearly six. However, before the court hearing, a violent confrontation involving both parties vying for custody made headlines in Toluca. On April 8, 2022, the altercation went viral, leading to accusations from his ex-sister-in-law, who is also his ex-wife's attorney, of sexual abuse. The Mexican authorities imposed preventive detention, citing his Cuban nationality as a flight risk, despite his eight-year residence, stable job, and established life in Mexico. He remains in jail, refusing to negotiate with the prosecution or admit to the false charges.