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The Draft Law on the Personal Identity and Domicile System published by the Cuban regime for citizen consultation sparked a flood of comments on social media this Monday, with reactions ranging from mockery and indifference to outrage and the suspicion that the regulation conceals a confiscatory intent.
The regulation redefines the concept of residence and requires all Cuban citizens to keep their registrations up to date, but it does not clarify what will happen to those who live abroad and maintain a registered address on the island.
The most widespread response among emigrants was one of defiant indifference. Dozens of people stated that they do not care at all about their Cuban identity card.
"I give you my identity card," wrote one; another replied, "now there are two of us," and a third added, "count me in." Several claimed to have left it behind when they left: "I didn't even bring it when I left Cuba, I guess it's somewhere in Havana."
Other comments pointed directly to the practical unfeasibility of the measure in a country without stable electricity or reliable internet connection. "What power are they going to work with if there is neither electricity nor internet?", asked a user.
Another recalled the failure of the so-called "economic reordering" of 2021: "I see this and it immediately brings to mind that disordered reordering. After all, in Cuba, there is an abundance of resources, technology, and especially electricity. What could possibly go wrong?"
A significant number of commentators expressed the suspicion that the true intention of the regime is to seize properties belonging to emigrants or impose charges in dollars.
“That smells to me like there are some important properties they want to divide and steal before everything is over,” wrote one. Another was more direct: “this will be another way to extract dollars from Cuban emigrants.”
Some interpreted the law as a pressure tactic to force temporary return. “This is called forced community tourism; they are required to travel to Cuba to update their identity card, so prepare the ticket; they are being put between a rock and a hard place. Many risk not being able to return, it’s that simple,” warned a commentator.
Several users pointed out the underlying contradiction: "I don't understand, they are asking emigrants to participate in the country's economic recovery while at the same time looking for a way to complicate their documentation situation."
There were also those who recalled that losing documents and belongings while emigrating is nothing new in Cuba. "When I left Cuba, they would take your ID to give you the passport; they even took your house," wrote a user.
Another added: "They even made an inventory of the underwear you were wearing to take everything from you, down to the last spoon." A third person bitterly summarized the story: "Those of us who left many years ago left with no rights, we lost everything, so this is nothing new."
Political criticism was also present. "That's called a military dictatorship controlling citizens not only from within but also those outside," wrote a commenter. Another encapsulated the sentiment of many with a phrase: "we have been in a legal limbo for almost 70 years."
The project, which could be approved on July 29, adds to the Law 171 on Migration —published in the Official Gazette in May 2026 and set to take effect in November— which introduces the concept of "effective migratory residence" and expands the powers of MININT regarding the mobility of Cuban citizens, as warned by the organization Cubalex.
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