The Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and the Press (ICLEP) issued a urgent call to the international community to bring attention to and monitor the situation of independent journalists Yunia Figueredo Cruz and Frank Correa, a couple who reside and work in the neighborhood of Jaimanitas, Havana.
The Cuban Observatory for Freedom of Expression (OCLE) has documented 22 repressive episodes against both from April 29, 2025, to September 4, 2026, including surveillance, movement restrictions, interrogations, arbitrary detentions, threats, confiscations, and selective cuts in telecommunications.
For ICLEP, this pattern represents a direct retaliation for the exercise of independent journalism, particularly for the coverage that Figueredo and Correa have provided on blackouts, garbage accumulation, deterioration of living conditions, and citizen protests in Jaimanitas.
The timeline of harassment dates back to mid-2025. According to a report from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in June of that year, Figueredo —director of the independent newsletter Amanecer Habanero— received threatening calls from private numbers warning her about a police investigation for "dangerousness," after she refused to comply with a summons.
In July 2025, both journalists were arrested in Havana after refusing another police summons, and Figueredo was placed under house arrest, prevented from leaving her home by agents of the political police.
In March 2026, Figueredo was arrested in Jaimanitas after participating in a pot-banging protest against power outages. On the following July 2, both were transferred to the police unit at 3rd and 110, in Playa, where they remained incommunicado for over 16 hours without a court order.
On August 19, Frank Correa was arrested while conducting an interview in Jaimanitas; simultaneously, State Security agents appeared at the family home to threaten Yunia and her daughter.
The most recent and concerning escalation, according to ICLEP, is the extension of pressures on the daughter of the couple. On September 4th, State Security agents went to the Faculty of Foreign Languages at the University of Havana to inquire about Beily Mariam Correa's enrollment. A few days later, a local police chief visited Figueredo's home to impose a new precautionary measure, with warnings regarding his daughters and their connections to the United States Embassy.
The case is set against a backdrop of increasing repression against independent media in Cuba. In July 2026, ICLEP recorded 272 violations of freedom of expression and the press, making it the most repressive month of the year. That same month, the regime approved Decree 160/2026, which expressly prohibits non-state actors from practicing journalism or operating news agencies. According to Reporters Without Borders, Cuba ranks 160 out of 180 in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index, making it the second worst country in the Americas, surpassed only by Nicaragua.
ICLEP calls on media, human rights organizations, international bodies, and democratic governments to learn about and disseminate the chronology of the 22 documented episodes, arguing that "international visibility can be an essential form of protection."
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