Amnesty International presented its 2026 global report, in which it dedicates a section to Cuba and confirms the persistence of repression and a widespread human rights crisis.
In the chapter dedicated to the island, the report notes that the Cuban state maintains repressive practices that include arbitrary arrests, short-term enforced disappearances, and the use of the penal system to silence critical voices.
According to the document, these actions are part of a broader pattern observed in several countries, where the enforced disappearance of activists, journalists and human rights defenders is used as a mechanism to instill fear in society.
Amnesty International emphasizes that arbitrary detention remains a common tool against dissidents in Cuba. Although at least 211 political prisoners were released in January 2025, many faced arbitrary restrictions after their release, and some even had their parole revoked in retaliation for their activism.
The report also denounces the persistent climate of systematic harassment against activists, opposition figures, artists, university students, and human rights defenders. These individuals are subjected to threats, illegal surveillance, online harassment, and interrogations.
According to data cited in the report, the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights (OCDH) documented at least 3,179 repressive actions during 2025, as well as 529 arbitrary detentions.
Repression also extends to the realm of social protest. Cuba is among the countries where undue restrictions on demonstrations have been recorded, including the unlawful use of force, arbitrary detentions, and criminal investigations against those exercising their right to peaceful assembly.
These practices, the organization warns, seek to inhibit freedom of expression and discourage citizen participation.
The report describes a sustained deterioration in living conditions. The electricity crisis, with massive and frequent blackouts throughout the year, affected millions of people, exacerbating difficulties in accessing basic services. Amnesty International also points to persistent obstacles in accessing essential public services.
Prison conditions are another area of concern. Human rights organizations and incarcerated individuals have denounced cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, as well as acts of torture. In this context, the organization Cubalex documented 39 deaths in custody in 2025.
The report concludes that the Cuban State must repeal the laws and practices that restrict fundamental rights, and guarantee the full exercise of the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, as well as allow real participation of civil society in public affairs.
This diagnosis is part of a global picture that, according to the organization, shows a widespread decline in human rights and a strengthening of authoritarian practices in various countries. @ADNCuba