Cuba ranked least free in Latin America by Freedom House

According to the Freedom House ‘Freedom in the World 2026’ report, Cuba remains the least free nation in Latin America. The country received a score of 9 out of 100, with zero points for political rights and nine for civil liberties, maintaining its status in the ‘Not Free’ category alongside Nicaragua and Venezuela.

The report, titled ‘The Growing Shadow of Autocracy’, notes a global trend of declining freedoms, with 54 countries seeing a reduction in political and civil liberties in 2025. Globally, only 21% of the population lives in free nations, down from 46% two decades ago.

In Cuba, the number of political prisoners has reached record levels. Prisoners Defenders reported 1,339 political prisoners as of August 2026. Amidst these conditions, activist and San Isidro Movement co-founder Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara was released in September after serving five years in prison. However, Freedom House noted his release was conditioned on forced exile, with the activist arriving in Miami in July 2026.