Mayo Hernández, the director of the independent news agency Félix Varela, was tried under Article 91 of the Penal Code, which imposes lengthy prison sentences or death for those who act against “the independence or the territorial integrity of the state.” In April 2003, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, which he is serving at Mar Verde Prison in eastern Santiago de Cuba Province.
In August 2003, Mayo Hernández joined imprisoned journalists Adolfo Fernández Saínz and Iván Hernández Carrillo in a 13-day hunger strike to demand better food and adequate medical attention. In mid-October, Fernández Saínz and Mayo Hernández joined other jailed dissidents in another hunger strike to protest the treatment of Hernández Carrillo, who was placed in a punishment cell after complaining of feeling ill. As punishment for his involvement, Mayo Hernández was transferred from Holguín Provincial Prison to Mar Verde Prison.