The lawyer Alain Espinosa from the human rights organization Cubalex presented a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) that dismantles the official narrative of the Cuban regime: the progressive militarization of civilian life on the island does not respond to any external threat, but is directed against the people themselves.
Espinosa appeared before the IACHR on August 4, during the 196th Session Period, under the topic "Cuba: Impacts of Militarization", and later explained in an interview with Tania Costa for CiberCuba the method he used to support that conclusion.
"We are trying to establish a timeline of events, particularly to place the commissioners in this case regarding the correlation between this militarization and the possible external agents that they always indicate in their narratives," the lawyer stated.
The chronology covers 215 verifiable actions, documented between February and July 24, 2026, and its central finding is compelling: even in the months when U.S. administration decisions had no direct impact on Cuba, militarization and repression continued to escalate.
"We have seen through the timeline we created by months how, even in those months where the narrative or actions of the U.S. administration did not have a direct impact or were not directly related to the issue of Cuba, this militarization and repression continued to increase," Espinosa stated.
The regime justifies the military deployment by referring to the "plans and measures for the transition to a state of war" approved at the beginning of the year, presenting them as a response to a supposed threat of U.S. invasion. Cubalex refutes this argument with data.
"Basically, what they are selling to the world is that this militarization corresponds to a supposed military offensive or a potential military invasion of the United States into Cuba and that they have the right to defend themselves," said the lawyer, before concluding: "We demonstrate that the militarization is directly related to the protests, to the feelings of the people, to the way the people express themselves, and not to a possible intervention."
The director of Cubalex, Laritza Diversent, had previously introduced the same thesis in July before CiberCuba, stating that the militarization is aimed at the population itself, not against an external enemy.
The report presented to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also details specific mechanisms of repression. It points out that the State does not primarily target well-known opposition leaders, but rather anonymous individuals participating in protests to intimidate the rest of society. "What we call a deterrent effect, which basically involves using certain individuals who participate in a protest as guinea pigs," Espinosa explained.
Another reported mechanism is the network of civilian informants connected to the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) and other government-affiliated structures, which Espinosa described as "the neighborhood snitch," dedicated to identifying those who lead the demonstrations to State Security.
The report also denounces the use of drones to monitor protests, an investment that Espinosa contrasted with the regime's failure to uphold basic rights.
"The Cuban government is showing that it has the political will to restrict human rights [...] and yet it does not use this funding to do what it is supposed to [...] guarantee the rights of its citizens, such as electricity, drinking water, adequate food, and proper medical care."
The quantitative context supports the seriousness of the report. Cubalex recorded 1,894 human rights violations in the first half of 2026, an increase of 48% compared to the previous semester, with an average of more than 10 incidents daily. In June, a record was reached with 253 protests and 319 repressive events, whereas the July report —internally referred to as "red July"— documented 37 homicides and 168 acts of violence, the highest level recorded since monitoring began.
Cubalex qualifies the situation as a "de facto exceptionalism": the State implements measures typical of a state of emergency without having formally declared one, which the organization considers incompatible with international human rights standards.
Filed under: