The ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel once again criminalized protests in Cuba during a recent interview with the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo, stating that the United States government funds individuals to promote social demands that lead to acts of vandalism, and that is why "the law is enforced."
In the leaked excerpt of the interview with journalist Mônica Bergamo, the leader stated that "the ideological subversion policy against Cuba by the U.S. government allocates a portion of the budget —the money of American taxpayers— for subversive actions," and that Washington "pays people to promote social demands in Cuba," but that these demands "are made by committing crimes" and become "vandalistic acts" against markets and state properties.
To justify the regime's repressive response, Díaz-Canel compared it to police actions in the United States: he mentioned pro-Palestinian university protests—which he described as "the largest since the Vietnam War"—and stated that "they have been massacred and the police have acted brutally against them."
He also evoked the death of George Floyd as an example of American police brutality, arguing that "the Cuban case is different; it has its peculiarities."
The ruler also assured that in Cuba, "people generally make their demands before state and party institutions because they trust these institutions, and they go and make their claims and are attended to, not repressed."
This version clashes directly with the data documented by independent organizations. According to a report from Prisoners Defenders, as of July 31, Cuba had 1,327 political prisoners, including 40 minors, with a steady increase each month since January.
Regarding the protests, July 2026 was the month with the highest number of recorded demonstrations in the recent history of the island: the Cuban Conflict Observatory counted 1,415 protests, complaints, and critical expressions, a historic record. In May, there were 1,311 recorded, and in June 107 street protests were documented, nearly double the previous record, with 82 occurring only in Havana.
Cubalex, for its part, recorded 319 repressive events between May and June 2026.
Díaz-Canel's speech follows a pattern that has been repeating since July 11, 2021, when he declared on television the phrase: "The order of combat is given, revolutionaries to the streets.", a direct call to suppress the demonstrators.
In March of this year, following a protest in Morón that ended with a fire at the local headquarters of the Communist Party and five arrests, the president warned that there would be no "impunity" for "vandalism and violence."
In April, in an interview with NBC News, Díaz-Canel denied the existence of political prisoners in Cuba, stating that those incarcerated were jailed for common crimes, a stance that is disproved month after month by independent organizations.
Aside from the issue of the protests, Díaz-Canel also expressed his support for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during the interview, regarding the upcoming elections in Brazil: "I would never interfere in Brazil's affairs, but if you are asking me about my sympathies, I certainly have sympathy for Lula."
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