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The Cuban Observatory of Conflicts (OCC) recorded 1,133 protests, complaints, and expressions of discontent in Cuba during April 2026, in a context characterized by the intensification of state repression, the energy crisis, and the rapid deterioration of living conditions on the island.
The figure represents a 4.4% decrease compared to the 1,245 protests recorded in March, but a 29.5% increase compared to the 799 counted in the same month of 2025, confirming a sustained upward trend in public discontent against the dictatorship.
The journalist and researcher from OCC, Rolando Cartaya, described the month as one of extreme control: "April was a month where there was a virtual curfew... patrols and an intensification of repression amid tensions with the United States, and this campaign trying to compromise all Cubans."
Despite this atmosphere of intimidation, Cartaya emphasized that the discontent did not wane: "Nevertheless, there were 1,133 protests, and of those, 305 were challenges to the police state."
Among the most visible demonstrations, at least 14 in-person protests were recorded, primarily driven by the lack of electricity and water.
One of the most striking cases was that of the Cuban mixed martial arts champion Javier Ernesto Martín Gutiérrez, known as the "Cuban Spider-Man," who cried out for eight days from his balcony in Marianao about the abuses of the regime before being violently arrested on April 24 and taken to Villa Marista, where the regime charged him with inciting the population to protest.
A particularly concerning element of the report is the jump in the category of citizen insecurity, which rose from fifth to second place with 185 entries, compared to 85 in March.
"Something extremely concerning was the jump in the category of public insecurity... with 185 incidents compared to 85 in March," Cartaya indicated.
At least 41 people died in April as a result of criminal, social, gender, and domestic violence, compared to 27 in March, and 21 assaults were reported, three times more than the seven in the previous month.
State repression also intensified: the OCC documented 176 repressive acts in April, compared to 159 in March, including arbitrary detentions, interrogations, revocation of parole, selective cuts to phone and Internet services, and direct threats against activists, opponents, and journalists.
The report also documents the campaign #MySignatureForTheHomeland, through which the regime exerted coercive pressure on citizens to sign a loyalty document under the threat of labor or academic reprisals.
An unidentified Cuban publicly stated in a viral video: "I will not sign for one reason. Because the Cuban government at this moment does not care about this beautiful people," he declared in front of the president of his Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, pointing to a garbage dump: "It's no longer a revolution, because they are all thieves."
In the food section, with 130 complaints, the situation is devastating: the Food Monitor Program found that 96.91% of Cubans have lost access to food due to inflation, and one in four people goes to bed without dinner.
Cartaya described images that reflect the severity of the crisis: "Men eating from the trash, children knocking on doors asking for something to eat, and elderly individuals going up to three days without so much as a morsel."
The April report reflects a rising trend that began in January 2026 with 953 protests, peaking in March when Cubalex documented the highest monthly number of protests since the 11J of 2021, featuring slogans for regime change such as "Freedom" and "Down with communism."
Cartaya concluded that "Cubans did not hide their desire for the Trump administration to fulfill its promise to change the regime that has them in this humanitarian crisis."
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