Executive Summary
March 2025 registered a historic record of violence and citizen insecurity since Cubalex began its monitoring work. 103 violent incidents were documented, including 20 murders, robberies, and the proliferation of drugs such as “the chemist”, Gender-based violence, online scams, animal abuse, and attacks on churches and schools were among the problems. Faced with an ineffective police response, vigilante justice increased.
The economic crisis is worsening with persistent inflation, chronic shortages, and a system of "covert dollarization" that exacerbates monetary apartheid, particularly affecting those without access to foreign currency. The number of homeless people is increasing. Against this backdrop, more than 20 citizen protests took place, featuring signs, the burning of sugarcane fields, and acts of confrontation in front of state institutions.
The agreement between the Cuban government and the Vatican to release 553 people was carried out in an opaque and coercive manner, benefiting only 200 political prisoners, according to independent organizations. Simultaneously, the Cuban government accepted mass deportations from the United States amid growing uncertainty surrounding humanitarian parole.
Meanwhile, the regime organized international events such as the Patria Colloquium, financed with public resources, in contrast to the widespread precariousness faced by the population.
Human rights violations and repression
Cubalex documented 247 human rights violations in 50 municipalities across the country, including 496 repressive incidents, primarily violations against persons deprived of their liberty, arbitrary detentions, forced transfers to detention centers, threats and coercion, use of violence, and violations of religious freedom. A total of 167 people were direct victims. The repression disproportionately affected human rights defenders and Afro-descendants.
The prison situation is alarming. Reports have been filed of widespread malnutrition, outbreaks of tuberculosis and hepatitis, and extremely unsanitary conditions. In Boniato Prison (Santiago de Cuba), the deaths of four inmates were documented, amid medical negligence and state abandonment.
Those released following the agreement with the Vatican remain under strict surveillance and severe restrictions, and some have been rearrested or summoned by authorities.
The regime continues to criminalize the use of social media to denounce human rights violations. Mass internet shutdowns and systematic electronic surveillance of activists, particularly the Ladies in White and members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), have been reported. Cases of reprisals against family members of political prisoners have also been documented.
The figures reported in this report constitute an undercount, due to censorship, self-censorship and technological limitations that prevent many people from speaking out publicly.
Making these violations visible is key to documenting repression in Cuba. That's why it's essential that those who have suffered abuse share their experience or contact our team. Only in this way can we continue to denounce what others try to hide.
We invite you to read the full report to access more information on the violations documented by Cubalex.