On 11 July 2021 people took to the streets of cities and towns across Cuba in spontaneous protests that grew in numbers as participants shared footage from the demonstrations on social media and messaging apps. At first it seemed that the protests were focused on shortages of food and medicine, exacerbated by the global COVID-19 pandemic, but, as their numbers swelled, there were clear calls for social and political reform. This demand for change left no room for misinterpretation as ‘Patria y Vida’, a song released earlier that year by a collaboration of Cuban hip hop artists on the island and in exile, became the anthem of the protests.  

The title of the song, ‘Homeland and Life’ in English - a twist on the longtime slogan of the Cuban Communist Party, ‘Homeland or Death’ - was understood by the Cuban government as a direct attack on its legitimacy. President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez called ‘revolutionaries’ to the streets in a televised address and deployed security forces, including the Black Berets, a special internal rapid-response force trained by the Chinese, to put an end to the protests. Hundreds of people were imprisoned, including some who were held incommunicado for extended periods of time, thousands were physically attacked, and according to the non-governmental organisation Cuba Decide, five people were killed.

The Cuban people have been subjected to an ongoing crackdown ever since. Between January 2025 and June 2026, CSW documented 667 separate cases involving attacks on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), almost of all of which involved multiple types of FoRB violations. The government systematically violates the Nelson Mandela Rules inside Cuba’s prison system, including by arbitrarily refusing religious visits or the right to receive religious materials. 

Religious leaders are under constant pressure to expel the family members of political prisoners from their congregations as part of a policy of social isolation. Children are subjected to physical and verbal abuse at school because of their religious beliefs. Leaders of unregistered religious groups are repeatedly harassed and threatened, while leaders of registered religious groups are targeted with intrusive surveillance, repeat interrogations and other pressure tactics. During the period covered by the report, CSW noted an uptick in the use of Actas de Advertencia, a document that justifies charges and imprisonment in the future for crimes not yet committed, as a method to threaten and intimidate religious leaders.  

Religious groups of all types, including Afro-Cuban groups, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Protestants and Roman Catholics, registered and unregistered associations, including some that belong to the Cuban Council of Churches (CCC), reported FoRB violations. The government appeared particularly concerned with stopping religious leaders from calling on people to pray for Cuba privately or in organised prayer vigils. 

Religious leaders and their congregations attempting to respond to humanitarian needs, which became even more acute in many parts of the island in 2025 and 2026, were harassed and fined. In many cases, the aid they were attempting to distribute was confiscated. Those considered by the government to be dissidents were repeatedly and systematically blocked from attending religious services, usually through short-term arbitrary detention.  

Despite the efforts of the government to silence independent or critical voices, religious leaders from registered and unregistered groups alike continued to report and speak publicly about FoRB and other human rights violations, to be openly critical of legislation and government positions, and to speak frankly about the humanitarian crisis in the country. The government has made it clear that it rejects the idea of any political or social reform. Despite the threats, harassment and the possibility of imprisonment, Cubans across the country, including many religious leaders, continue to speak out against injustice, and up for those in their communities who are suffering.  

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