Cuba: SRFOE condemns state repression and calls for respect and guarantee of the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly

July 31, 2025

Washington, DC—In the context of the anniversary month of the mass protests of July 11, 2021, the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (SRFOE) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemns the persistence of state repression in Cuba. In this regard, the Office calls on the State to immediately release all persons detained for political reasons and to respect and guarantee the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, in accordance with international human rights norms and standards.

In 2025, the Special Rapporteur has recorded several protests in Cuba, in a context of serious economic crisis, food shortages, and severe restrictions on internet access. According to reports from civil society organizations, between July 2024 and June 2025, around 290 protests were documented, mainly driven by the collapse of the National Electric Power System and the increase in internet rates due to new measures implemented by the Cuban Telecommunications Company (ETECSA).

These reports also document the continuation of a pattern of repression by the Cuban State against protesters, activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and relatives of detainees. In this context, the SRFOE expresses its grave concern about the criminalization of dissent through the abuse of state punitive power to intimidate, persecute, and punish those who actively participate in the political and public life of the country.

According to reports, during the same period, at least 543 people remain in detention for their participation in protests, 360 of them related to the July 2021 demonstrations and 183 to subsequent protests. Of these, 101 have been sentenced to between 10 and 22 years in prison or corrective labor. Reports indicate that most of these sentences were handed down in trials without due process, and there have been reports of restrictions on prison benefits, limitations on family contact, and inhumane prison conditions.

Added to this situation are reports of arbitrary arrests of journalists and communicators. Among the cases recorded are the arrest of Carlos Milanés, an independent journalist for ADN Cuba, Cubanet, and Radio Martí, on May 25, 2025, by State Security; the arrest of Henry Constantin, director of La Hora de Cuba, on June 29, 2025, in Camagüey, accused of contempt for a publication in which he denounced the actions of a State Security agent, and who was later released; and the arrest of Ángel Cuza Alfonso, activist and independent journalist, on July 25, 2025, after being released from prison on May 3, 2025, after serving a year and a half in prison.

In addition, journalists continue to be victims of judicial harassment and reprisals, such as summonses, interrogations, threats, and raids, which have led to self-censorship and forced exile. In exile, they face intimidation and employment difficulties, as well as the risk of deportation, which exposes them to returning without guarantees of safety. According to reports, the situation of the independent press in Cuba continues to deteriorate, particularly since the entry into force of the Social Communication Law in October 2024.

In this context, on May 30, 2025, the SRFOE also reported the implementation of new measures by ETECSA that increase internet access rates. According to this Office, the company justified these changes as part of an economic plan aimed at attracting foreign currency "to sustain the telecommunications network and continue offering services in national currency." Civil society organizations have pointed out that these restrictions act as a form of indirect censorship, limiting freedom of expression and exacerbating information isolation. The SRFIE warns that internet access in Cuba is essential for the circulation of information and that these measures could further consolidate state control over the flow of information, restricting the population's contact with the outside world.

As the IACHR has pointed out, the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest are essential elements of the functioning and very existence of the democratic system, as well as a channel that allows people to express their demands, dissent, and claim access to and fulfillment of political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights.

The SRFOE reiterates that the work of journalists and communicators, as well as the free flow of information through various media, including digital platforms, are essential to keeping the population informed. The authorities must refrain from interfering in the transmission of facts and from imposing measures that limit the circulation of information via the internet and other media. In addition, States must guarantee universal, equitable, affordable, and quality access to internet infrastructure and ICT services throughout their territory.

In this regard, the SRFOE urgently calls on the Cuban State to: (i) immediately cease all practices of repression and criminalization against the population; (ii) proceed to the immediate release of all persons detained for the legitimate exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, political participation, association, and peaceful assembly, including journalists and media workers; and (iii) guarantee full and unrestricted access by international and human rights organizations to detained persons and their families.

The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (SRFOE) is an office created by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to promote the defense of the right to freedom of thought and expression in the Americas, considering its fundamental role in the consolidation and development of the democratic system.

No. R151/25

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