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Berta Soler, leader of the Damas de Blanco, reported this Saturday that State Security agents have surrounded the homes of movement members and the group's national headquarters since early hours, on the fifth anniversary of the protests of July 11, 2021.
"Since early today, July 11, 2026, the homes of the Ladies in White and the national headquarters of the Ladies have been besieged by State Security repressors," Soler wrote on his Facebook account, accompanying the message with archival photos and the hashtag #RevolucionEsRepresion.
The action reflects the regime's systematic pattern of tightening the grip on opponents and activists during symbolic dates, particularly on the anniversaries of the largest anti-government social uprising recorded in Cuba since 1994.
The surveillance operation is not an isolated event. According to data from Prisoners Defenders as of the end of June 2026, Cuba had 1,306 political prisoners, an unprecedented historical record that includes 40 minors. Of that total, 338 remain incarcerated directly for their participation in the protests of July 11, 2021.
In the weeks leading up to the anniversary, the regime intensified home sieges, arbitrary arrests, and forced relocations to prevent activists from participating in commemorative events. On July fifth and seventh, new protests were also reported in the Havana neighborhood of Jaimanitas, with shouts of "Down with the dictatorship!" and pot-banging, in a context of blackouts lasting up to 40 hours and widespread food shortages.
Soler has a recent history of reprisals. On January 1st of this year, she was arrested while heading to the Mass for Peace at the Cathedral of Havana. In April 2025, she was detained along with her husband, the former political prisoner Ángel Moya Acosta, and both were subjected to 48 days of house arrest. In March 2026, Soler reported an increase in repression with 246 violations and 540 repressive incidents recorded across 45 different categories.
The Ladies in White, founded in 2003 after the "Black Spring" in which the regime imprisoned 75 opponents, journalists, and activists, received the Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament in 2005, although no representative was able to collect it because the dictatorship prevented them from leaving the country.
In the context of the fifth anniversary, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanded the release of Cuban political prisoners and warned of the use of "all available tools" to promote change on the island, while diplomat Mike Hammer visited the families of political prisoners from 11J in Havana.
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