Repression in Cuba continues despite the regime facing international threats

On February 6th 2026, El4tico, a group of content creators from Holguin (Cuba) critical of Cuban society and the government from a perspective of self-responsibility and citizen participation through the format of short videos on social media, were detained by Cuban authorities.

A police search was conducted at their home by at least four officers from the PNR, who seized their equipment and took Ernesto Ricardo Medina and Kamil Zayas Pérez to the Provincial Prison of Holguin (commonly known among the locals as “Everybody Sings”), which has been widely denounced for torture, degrading treatment, and violent interrogation of prisoners. The charges presented thus far are propaganda against the constitutional order, disrespect of authority, and incitement to commit a crime.

Though supporters of the Cuban State justify this action as a response to the suffocation and encirclement of Cuba, it is the latest episode in the criminalization of political dissent, contributing to a stable count of more than 1,000 political prisoners since 2020, as widely reported by independent groups. Both the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights Committee have disqualified the use of these charges as a tool of repression against freedom of speech.