Cuban regime escalates preventive repression and deploys armed units amid ongoing protests

Human‑rights groups reported that the Cuban government has shifted its repression strategy from reactive to preventive, using extensive digital surveillance, territorial monitoring and pre‑emptive arrests. The latest study documented more than 175 new political prisoners in the first half of 2026, including 114 detained for exercising fundamental rights such as peaceful assembly, online expression and civil‑society activism. Among those, nine adolescents were arrested during mass security operations.

In Santiago de Cuba, a nighttime cacerolazo against prolonged power outages was met by a “Black Berets” unit carrying long‑range firearms. Witnesses said the armed command aimed to intimidate protesters, echoing the 2021 protests when police opened fire, resulting in injuries and one death. The incident highlights the regime’s increasing reliance on armed enforcement to suppress dissent.