Abstract: A cable winch comprising a driving sheave or wheel rotatably mounted in a housing and rotated by a motor or hand-crank. The driving sheave has a peripheral groove to receive the cable. A tensioning wheel, whose position is variable, is rotatably mounted in the housing adjacent the cable inlet for guiding the cable towards the driving sheave, and a pressure wheel is also rotatably mounted in a variable position in the housing for pressing the cable against the driving sheave according to the tension in the cable. The tensioning wheel and the pressure wheel may be eccentrically pivotally mounted in the housing, the mounting of one wheel being coupled to the mounting of the other by an articulated linkage system.