The Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and Press (Iclep) released its Partial Report 2025 this Friday, revealing a staggering 1,188 instances of infringements on freedom of expression and press in Cuba throughout the year. This marks the most significant surge in such repressive actions in the past three years.
Compared to the 768 violations recorded in 2024, this figure reflects a 54.7% increase, drawn from 968 individual entries in the organization's database.
Remarkably, 83.8% of the documented violations impacted individuals not identified as journalists, including activists, dissidents, ordinary citizens, and political prisoners.
"The dictatorship tolerates no discourse other than its own, extending its oppressive reach to anyone who dares to dissent," stated Iclep.
Arbitrary detentions were a significant concern, with 386 cases reported in 2025—347 related to freedom of expression and 39 concerning press freedom.
In the digital realm, 41 incidents were noted, affecting 28 citizens and 13 journalists.
An average of 1.23 violations per entry indicates that in about one in four cases, the regime employed multiple repressive tactics simultaneously against the same victim.
Iclep describes this as "a calculated combination of various mechanisms aimed at maximizing the deterrent effect with each intervention by the state apparatus."
The report also highlights that these figures do not capture all occurrences due to restricted information access imposed by the regime and victims' fear of reprisal.
A direct consequence of this repression is forced exile. Cuba, along with Venezuela and Nicaragua, accounts for 92.3% of exiled journalists in Latin America, with Cuba alone seeing 98 journalists flee the country between 2018 and 2024.
The report acknowledges that "increasingly fewer journalists unaffiliated with the state apparatus continue their work from the island" and notes that "sometimes, even beyond its borders, harassment persists."
Recent incidents underscore this pattern. In November 2025, the regime harassed 18 contributors to elTOQUE under allegations of "financial terrorism," publicly exposing personal data of journalists and their families.
This month, content creator Eddy Ceballos was detained for the alleged crime of "military property invasion," a charge absent from the current Cuban Penal Code.
On the global stage, Cuba ranks 160th out of 180 countries in the 2026 Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, marking it as the second-worst in the Americas, only behind Nicaragua.
Iclep concludes that the issues documented are nothing new. "The criminal nature of the Cuban regime dates back years. What varies from year to year is its intensity, focus, and the tools it favors at any given time."
Data from the early months of 2026 suggest this trend is unrelenting. January saw 114 attacks—a 67.6% rise from January 2025—and February documented 128 assaults on the press, a 172.3% increase compared to the same month the previous year.
Understanding the Surge in Censorship in Cuba
What led to the significant increase in violations in 2025?
The increase in violations is attributed to the regime's intensified efforts to suppress dissent and control the narrative, affecting not just journalists but also activists, citizens, and political prisoners.
How does Cuba rank globally in terms of press freedom?
Cuba ranks 160th out of 180 countries in the 2026 Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, making it the second worst in the Americas.
What are the consequences for journalists in Cuba?
Many journalists face harassment, arbitrary detentions, and are forced into exile, with Cuba accounting for a significant percentage of exiled journalists in Latin America.