“The production [in prison] is symbolic,” Habanos and Tabacuba assure in an official reaction to the report of the NGO Prisoners Defenders.

Questioned by halfwheel following the report by the NGO Prisoners Defenders, Habanos S.A. confirmed that inmates roll cigars in Cuban prisons.

“According to reports from Tabacuba, the organization responsible for the cigar rolling industry, the main objective of this plan is to provide professional training to this group of inmates, enabling their future integration into the workforce”, Habanos SA writes in a statement collected by the American website.

“The participation in this program, Tabacuba adds, involves learning an artisanal trade in a sector in which Cuba is the global benchmark—not only because of its tobacco, but also due to the professionalism and expertise of those who work in it”, continues the Havana-based company.

“Lastly, the industry points out that participation in this program is voluntary, and inmates receive incentives and prison benefits for their work. Regarding production, Tabacuba concludes: ‘the essential purpose of the program is training, and the production in these centers—which have the same resources and quality control standards as the factories—is symbolic’ “, states Habanos SA.

The text does not provide any information on the brands of cigars manufactured under this “program”, nor on their destination (export or domestic market), nor on the amount of remuneration of the inmate rollers, nor on the quantities produced, even if it states that the volume of production is “symbolic”.