A Cuban identified as Mercy Mejías posted a video on Facebook in which she poses a question that thousands of Cubans silently ask themselves: why can criticizing the government in Cuba cost one's freedom, while in other countries it is a right exercised without consequences?
In the video, which lasts a little over a minute and a half, Mejías describes how he watched a Spanish program where they openly debated the president's mistakes and discussed whether he should resign.
"In that program, in Spain, they talk about the president, if he makes mistakes, if he has to resign, this and that, and nothing happens, and no one is suppressed, and no one goes to jail," she points out.
The comparison served as a starting point for directly questioning those who defend the Cuban regime: "Why can't we criticize the bad things this government does when they happen? Why do they have to hit us? Why do they have to imprison us? Why is there repression against the people when we express our opinions?"
Mejías closes the video with a question that encapsulates the feelings of many Cubans: "And after hearing them say that it is not a dictatorship and that there is no repression in Cuba, can someone explain to me what this is called?"
The video accumulated over 34,000 views, 1,723 reactions, and 639 comments, reflecting the resonance this issue has among Cubans both on and off the island.
What Mejías describes is not an isolated perception. According to a report documenting violations of freedom of expression in Cuba, the Cuban Institute for the Freedom of Expression and the Press (ICLEP) recorded 1,188 violations in 2025, an increase of 54.7% compared to the previous year, and in the first half of 2026, 1,949 repressive actions were accumulated.
Reporters Without Borders ranked Cuba at 160 out of 180 countries in its 2026 press freedom index, according to data published by the organization regarding the impact of Decree-Law 370, which criminalizes the dissemination of information deemed "contrary to the social interest" online.
The cases of Cubans imprisoned for expressing themselves on social media are numerous and recent. Erich Alain Chang Padrón was detained on May 18 after posting a video on Facebook where he referred to Díaz-Canel as "a shameless person, a nobody, a nonentity."
Mayelín Rodríguez Prado was sentenced to 15 years in prison for broadcasting live protests on Facebook.
The rapper Fernando Almenares received a five-year prison sentence in January 2026 for displaying banners with human rights messages.
The artist Leonard Richard González Alfonso was sentenced to seven years in March 2026 for painting "How long? They are killing us" on a wall, in protest against the blackouts.
Prisoners Defenders reported 1,281 political prisoners in Cuba in May 2026, the highest number documented to date, with over 2,100 individuals imprisoned for political reasons since July 2021, according to data from human rights organizations.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) warned that political repression in Cuba is at one of its "most critical and alarming" moments, with historically high levels of arbitrary detentions.
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