The Cuban regime asserted in Russia that it has made progress toward "digital sovereignty" through the development of its own technologies, while on the island, power outages continue to disrupt access to the internet and essential electronic services.
During the II Global Digital Forum held in Moscow, the Deputy Minister of Communications, Pablo Julio Pla Feria, attributed the main difficulties for the country's technological development to the U.S. embargo, although he maintained that these restrictions had also spurred the creation of national solutions.
According to the Russian agency TASS on October 9, the official cited the Soberanía platform as an example, which was developed by the Digital Government Center of Cuba and consolidates information on over 300 administrative procedures. The agency also reported a figure of more than 400,000 "registered services," without specifying what this indicator refers to.
During his speech, Pla Feria also criticized the U.S. sanctions, which he described as "an illegal, inhumane, and extraterritorial policy." According to statements published by Sputnik Mundo, the official asserted that Cuba had learned to develop its own technological solutions despite the challenges and stated that "technological sovereignty is forged from resistance and creativity."
The Soberanía platform, launched in July 2025, had only 18 online services available by the end of August 2026, despite providing information on over 300 administrative procedures.
This was acknowledged by the authorities themselves during a visit by Miguel Díaz-Canel to the Digital Government Center, where over 43,000 verified digital identities were also reported.
Additionally, Pla Feria also introduced the Cuban artificial intelligence model CecilIA as an alternative to foreign technologies. According to Sputnik, the official defended its ability to preserve the country's cultural and linguistic identity, under the premise that "those who lose their culture and their historical memory lose their nation."
The project, developed by specialists from the University of Havana, had already been presented in 2025 and is part of the government strategy to reduce technological dependence on foreign sources.
On October 5th, just four days before the statements made by the deputy minister, ETECSA acknowledged interruptions in Nauta navigation and Transfermóvil, due to energy issues that rendered equipment and technological systems inoperable.
The state-owned company had also admitted in September that the prolonged power outages cause disconnections in telecommunications facilities and limit their ability to expand the network, leaving communities without mobile coverage or internet access.
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