Location: Cuba, Havana
Date: February 4, 2021

Cuban authorities disrupted internet access in the city as protestors gathered outside the Ministry of Culture in Havana demanding greater artistic freedom.

The current wave of protests in Cuba began in November 2020, when Afro-Cuban rapper Denis Solís live-streamed his arrest on Facebook. On November 11, Solís, a member of the Movimiento San Isidro (MSI), was sentenced to eight months in prison for contempt and moved to a maximum security facility outside Havana. In response, the MSI members organized a hunger and thirst strike, locking themselves inside the San Isidro headquarters in protest. The strike ended on November 27, after the police stormed the premises and arrested the protestors inside. During the raid, protestors attempted to record video and images of police activity, to later share on social media. In anticipation of the protestors’ posts, the authorities preemptively suspended access to major social media websites.

NetBlocks Internet Observatory recorded partial disruptions to social media and streaming services from November 27 to November 30. Access to Facebook, Youtube, WhatsApp, Twitter and some Google servers remained interrupted as artists gathered to protest the state’s actions. This restrictive practice has since become customary in the country. Anytime demonstrations by the artist community in Cuba threaten to attract media attention, the state responds by clamping down on social media and internet access. The shutdown on January 27 was the most recent example of this pattern. Journalists have resorted to using VPN services to counteract their government’s draconian measures.

The arbitrary internet blackouts have raised concern among the international community, and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has taken note of the issue. In response, Ana Cristina Núñez, a senior researcher for the CPJ's Central and South America Program, stated, “One day, Cuban authorities will learn that the only way to avoid demonstrations for free expression is to allow people, including journalists, to express themselves freely”. She went on to warn that, “Until Havana stops impeding access to the internet and obstructing the work of the press, Cuba will continue to be an outlier among nations.”

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is distraught by the Cuban Government’s attempts to curb citizens’ rights. CFWIJ condemns the communication blockades regularly enacted in the region. Arresting artists and curtailing their right to freedom of opinion and expression is a repressive tactic that not only infringes on the rights of people but interferes with the country’s social progression.

The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.

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