The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH) documented at least 332 repressive actions across Cuba in May, including 55 arbitrary detentions and 277 other violations committed by the regime, according to a report released Monday.
Beyond arbitrary arrests, the most common abuses recorded during the month included police surveillance and operations targeting activists' homes (79 cases), mistreatment of political and common prisoners (58), disruptions of internet and telephone communications (43), as well as harassment, threats, and police summonses.
The provinces with the highest number of reported incidents were Havana, Camagüey, Las Tunas, and Holguín.
Among those detained in early May were Berta Soler Fernández, leader of the Ladies in White; former political prisoner Ángel Juan Moya Acosta; Yoan de la Cruz, known for filming one of the first protests during the July 11, 2021 uprising; Colombian journalist Daniel Maldonado; and activist Alexei Martínez Rojas, who was arrested in Camajuaní, Villa Clara.
On May 15, authorities arrested dermatologist Sordey Ballester Horta in Matanzas, reportedly for photographing a poster containing anti-government slogans. That same day, Amanda Reyes Moreno and Lusmari Reyes Moreno were also detained in Havana.
Between May 19 and 22, authorities launched a wave of repression linked to anti-government protests in Holguín province. Those arrested included Eusebio Martínez Matos, Braulio Cuenca, Jenny Moré, Jaime Bosch, José Alberto Linnet Ramírez, Yaquelín Thope Infante, Yamilka Mora, Israel Espinosa Thope, Léstor Osvaldo Martínez Vázquez, and Rafael Batista Infante, most of whom were identified for their alleged participation in or connection to the demonstrations.
The report also highlighted the arrests of former political prisoner Mario Alberto Hernández Leyva and activist Fidel Mojena on May 20. The following day, authorities reportedly detained Erick Alain Chang Padrón and transferred him to the Villa Marista State Security detention center.
Also among those arrested were Guillermo “Coco” Fariñas Hernández, leader of the United Anti-Totalitarian Forum (FANTU), and activist Pedro Sáez in Villa Clara. Sáez's detention was reportedly linked to a protest in the municipality of Corralillo.
The OCDH further denounced the travel ban imposed on historian and academic Alina Bárbara López Hernández, who was prevented from leaving the country despite being invited to attend the annual congress of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), where she serves as co-director of the organization's Cuba Section.
“The regime is moving Cuba further away from any possibility of a peaceful transition and closer to total collapse,” said Yaxys Cires, OCDH's Director of Strategy. “The increase in repression, combined with the government's failure to address the extreme poverty affecting the population, amounts to a rejection of the calls for real change coming from Cuban society. Why not begin a process of measurable political, economic, and social reforms that includes all sectors of Cuban society and the exile community?”
In April, the organization recorded 366 repressive incidents nationwide.