The Cuban activist Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente, known as "Anna Bensi," reported this Wednesday that her WhatsApp account was suspended, preventing her from logging in or receiving the verification code needed to recover it.
In a Facebook post accompanied by screenshots, the 21-year-old young woman described the situation.
"Today I woke up and found the 'surprise' of having my WhatsApp suspended. I can’t log in; when I request the code, it doesn’t arrive at my number. And people are messaging me, but it shows as if the messages were delivered," said Anna.
The images she posted show the message from the app: "Your session has been closed. Your phone number is no longer registered with WhatsApp on this phone," as well as the six-digit verification screen that she couldn't complete and messages sent by contacts with double gray checkmarks, indicating they were delivered but not read.
The suspension of WhatsApp fits into a documented pattern of technological pressure against activists in Cuba.
In this regard, the activist reaffirmed her stance against the Cuban regime and stated: "I am disgusted by this entire situation, by all the repression, but this is just a process and I want to emphasize that my faith, my conviction, and my ideals remain stronger than ever."
The complaint comes weeks after an escalated crackdown against her by the Cuban regime.
On March 25, Anna Bensi was summoned to the 27 de Alamar station of the National Revolutionary Police in Havana, where she was informed of charges as a co-author of the crime defined in Article 393 of the Cuban Penal Code, which penalizes the unauthorized recording and dissemination of images or personal information, resulting in sentences of two to five years in prison.
After that citation, she was subjected to a thorough body search without the presence of a lawyer and placed under house arrest with her mother, Caridad Silvente, who had also been interrogated by the authorities in March for having recorded and published a video of a sub-official from the Ministry of Interior while he was delivering a citation at her home.
During that same period, the regime cut off internet access for both and labeled the young woman as "counter-revolutionary" and "mercenary," accusing her of conspiring with Estados Unidos.
On March 26, the authorities also disabled the phones of members of the group "Fuera de la Caja Cuba" for having publicly supported the activist.
A report from February 2026 on digital surveillance in Cuba concluded that messaging app blocks are selective and not random, targeting activist profiles and leading to self-censorship: 24% of those affected stopped posting political content and 13.5% left WhatsApp or Telegram groups for fear of reprisals.
Cuba centralizes access to the internet through the state monopoly ETECSA, making it easier to impose rapid restrictions and targeted blockades against critical voices.
Anna Bensi closed her post with the messages "#TheyWillNotSilenceMe," "#DownWithTheDictatorship," and "#DownWithCommunism," reiterating that no action from the regime will silence her.
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