Criticism mounts as Cuban authorities curb civic space and implement harsher restrictions

Introduction

In 2023, the Díaz-Canel government faced criticism for further restricting civic space, with concerns raised about arbitrary detentions and the conditions of political prisoners. Human Rights Watch’s annual report indicated that Cuba concluded 2023 with over 1,000 political prisoners, who reportedly faced significant human rights challenges. Issues highlighted include concerns about due process, with reports suggesting a lack of guarantees that trials be conducted by impartial and independent courts.

Additionally, the government has not permitted human rights organisations to access prisons to assess conditions, and there have been reports of prisoners being held incommunicado. Another development in 2023 was the government’s increased control over the internet and social media. In May 2023, the National Assembly passed a law intended to regulate digital media content, which some civil society groups believe could be used to limit criticism.

Cuban human rights organisation Cubalex reported an increase in repressive measures, creating an environment of systematic limitations on the freedoms of peaceful assembly, expression and association. These practices, combined with the use of the legal and judicial system to manage dissenting voices, have reportedly contributed to a climate of fear and increased self-censorship.

Expression

Cuban authorities arbitrarily detain Radio Martí contributor Oscar Elias Biscet in Havana

On 9th January 2024, authorities arbitrarily detained Radio Martí journalist Oscar Elias Biscet as he left his home in Havana. Biscet, who has faced repeated harassment and detention by authorities, previously spent nearly 10 years in prison. Sylvia Rosabal, Director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, condemned the arrest as an effort to silence human rights advocacy in Cuba and called for his immediate release.

Journalists targeted under new Criminal Code

Repression against those exercising their right to free expression continues in Cuba. Civil society has condemned the use of the new Criminal Code as a tool to silence dissenting voices, particularly targeting journalists. Luis Ángel Cuza Alfonso, a journalist with CubaNet and a former political prisoner, has faced repeated harassment, including 10 arbitrary detentions, surveillance, summonses and threats between January 2022 and November 2023. On 7th November 2023, he received a sentence of one year and six months in prison.

On 10th January 2024, national and international organisations, along with media outlets, signed a petition calling for Cuza’s immediate release. They urged the Cuban government to cease persecuting people who express dissent or defend human rights through social media and other platforms.

Social media criticism in Cuba leads to intimidation by authorities

Civil society organisations have reported that expressing dissent about Cuba’s economic and social crisis on social media can lead to serious consequences. Authorities have summoned, visited and accused people of allegedly violating legal frameworks, particularly Decree Law 370, known as the “gag law.” For instance, in December 2023, Yudeybis Reinoso expressed frustration about the food crisis on Facebook. As a result, officials from the municipality of Mariano summoned her, threatening fines, confiscation of her mobile phone, and even imprisonment if she continued to criticise the government.

Association

Arbitrary detentions and other forms of political repression continue in Cuba, with an increasing focus on women

On 16th January 2024, the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights reported that 45 per cent of all repressive acts recorded in 2023 were directed towards women. The organisation documented 100 women political prisoners and noted that 67 per cent of arbitrary detentions and 52 per cent of house arrests involved women.

The organisation also highlighted a trend in which the Cuban government appears to be pressuring activists to leave the country to avoid arbitrary detention. As a result, activists such as Zuleidys Pérez, Amelia Calzadilla, Roxana García Lorenzo and Marisol Peña Cobos went into exile in 2023.

In Amelia Calzadilla’s case, the harassment reportedly began after she published a video in 2022, questioning the challenging living conditions faced by Cubans. The video went viral, and three days later, Calzadilla was summoned to the government headquarters in El Cerro, where she lived. Although supported by Cuban mothers and activists, Calzadilla reported facing reprisals for her public statements on social media. Authorities allegedly cut off her internet connection, monitored her home and launched a smear campaign against her on social networks. On 8th November 2023, Calzadilla left Cuba with her children. The following month, she received a WhatsApp message from the political police informing her and her husband that they were prohibited from returning to the island.

The authorities reportedly accused Calzadilla of “inciting women in Cuba to demonstrate” through a WhatsApp group. Calzadilla explained that she had been invited to join a group of activists and mothers aiming to organise demonstrations to highlight the health issues their children faced due to the difficult conditions in Cuba. Her only involvement, she stated, was to commit to following up with those who planned to participate in the protests. However, according to the police officer’s message, this was cited as the reason for her prohibition from returning to Cuba.

Over 3,000 repressive incidents in 2023

According to the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights (Observatorio Cubano de Derechos Humanos, OCDH), the current administration in Cuba reportedly carried out at least 3,830 repressive incidents against the civilian population. The most significant human rights violations included 952 illegal home confinements - a tactic the government allegedly used to neutralise independent activists - and 936 arbitrary detentions.

The OCDH also highlighted the continued imprisonment of nearly 1,000 people for political or conscience-related reasons. The organisation identified a troubling pattern of repression, which it termed the “emptying of the opposition and civil society,” where activists are pressured to leave the country under the threat of imprisonment.

In December alone, the OCDH documented 438 repressive actions, including 62 detentions and 376 other abuses. These included home sieges, violations against political prisoners, police summonses, threats and the disruption of telecommunications services for political purposes.

The OCDH expressed concern over the worsening human rights situation in Cuba, citing the implementation of a more repressive penal code, enforced at the end of 2022, and the persistent challenges of exile, imprisonment, harassment and intimidation faced by political opponents, activists and journalists. Despite international scrutiny through the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review and condemnations from various countries and organisations, the OCDH described 2023 as a bleak year for human rights in Cuba, with little hope for improvement in the government’s approach to addressing citizens’ most pressing needs.

In this context, on 27th December 2023, Berta Soler, leader of the Cuban opposition movement Damas de Blanco, and her husband, former political prisoner Ángel Moya, reported their detention alongside at least 20 other group members. Moya stated on social media that authorities “intercepted and arrested” them after they left the Damas de Blanco headquarters in Lawton, Havana, and transported them separately to police stations in the El Cotorro and Guanabacoa districts. Soler also reported that authorities detained several members of her organisation in Santa Clara and various towns in Matanzas province.

Peaceful Assembly

Cuban prosecutors seek up to nine-year sentences for Caimanera protesters

In January 2024, prosecutors in Guantánamo requested prison sentences ranging from four to nine years for six people arrested following a peaceful protest in Caimanera in May 2023. According to Diario de Cuba, an independent online Cuban news outlet, legal documents obtained indicate that the protesters face charges including public disorder, assault, resistance and incitement to commit a crime. Prosecutors seek nine years of imprisonment for Daniel Álvarez González, six years for Luis Miguel Alarcón Martínez, Freddy Sarquiz González, Felipe Octavio Correa Martínez and Rodolfo Álvarez González, and four years for Yandri Pelier Matos.

The protesters were reportedly brutalised by state security forces simply for demanding freedom and a dignified life. The authorities have claimed that the proximity of Caimanera to the U.S. naval base in Guantánamo is an aggravating factor in the charges.

Cuban protests surge by 31.76 per cent in 2023 despite increasing repression

In 2023, the Cuban Observatory of Conflicts (OCC) recorded 5,749 public protests, an increase of 1,846 from the 3,923 protests documented in 2022, representing a 31.76 per cent rise. This growth reflects a rising willingness among Cuban citizens, including opposition groups and civil society, to express their opinions and demands publicly despite the restrictive legal framework imposed by the government.

Since the mass protests of 11th July 2021, the Cuban government has intensified its repression through various laws and decrees that significantly limit freedom of expression and assembly, including Decree-Laws 349, 370, 35, the Penal Code enforced in December 2022, and the yet-to-be-enforced Social Communication Law. Despite these restrictions, Cuban citizens have continued to protest, with women playing a prominent role in many of these actions. The OCC also noted that digital platforms and social media have become vital spaces for criticism and dissent, further amplified by prominent public figures. This ongoing civic resistance underscores the growing awareness among Cubans that remaining silent only perpetuates abuses of power.