“The government did not take credible steps or actions to identify and sanction the officials who committed abuse against human rights,” says the US Department of Edado.
Miami, United States. – The situation of human rights in Cuba remained without improvements during 2024, according to The island chapter of the Annual Report of the US Department of State “there were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Cuba during the year,” says the document. “The Government did not take steps or credible actions to identify and sanction the officials who committed abuse against human rights,” he adds.
The report lists as “significant human rights problems” in Cuba the “arbitrary or illegal homicides; disappearances; torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment by the Government; arrests and arbitrary detentions; transnational repression against people in another country; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of the press (…); restrictions on religious freedom; State sponsored;
The document was prepared by the Office of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) of the State Department as part of its “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2024” (reports by country on human rights practices in 2024) and attributes numerous parts of its story to civil society organizations and Cuban independent media and in exile.
Deaths in custody and allegations of torture
In the chapter on “deprivation of life”, the State Department states that “there were several reports” of alleged arbitrary or illegal executions. Appointment, among others, A Cubalex report which documented 56 deaths of people “in detention or in custody of the authorities” between January 2022 and January 2024, with excessive force as one of the main causes.
As an example, he points out the case of Roleivis León, who died on January 7 at a hospital in Columbus, Matanzas, after “being beaten by penitentiary officials while he was on hunger strike.” Cubalex questioned the transparency of investigations and denounced cover -ups that “perpetuate a culture of impunity.”
The report also details “credible reports” of cruel, inhuman or degrading torture and treatment, including physical aggressions and threats of sexual violence against activists, dissidents and peaceful protesters. He mentions stunned people and aggressive interrogation tactics, with threats of “long -term detention” or coercive measures against families. He also quotes a complaint by Prisoners Defenders about The beating By seven guards to Ibrahim Domínguez Aguilar on April 4 in the prison of Bladato (Santiago de Cuba). The document emphasizes that impunity is “generalized” and that there is no record of prosecutions to officials for these abuses.
Short -term disappearances and arbitrary arrests
Although it does not record prolonged forced disappearances, the report states that there were “numerous” cases of short -term disappearances linked to unregistered arrests, especially after protests due to lack of food and electricity in Santiago de Cuba in March, when the authorities “retained information” to families about the arrest whereabouts. Two Cuban organizations – the Human Rights Center of Cuba and Justice 11J – monitored these cases.
Although the legislation provides guarantees such as habeas corpusthe report indicates that “there are no indications” that the authorities observed or enforced them. It is documented that the Police often executes arbitrary arrests of activists, dissidents and family, using figures such as “public disorders”, “contempt” or non -payment of fines to stop and threaten members of civil society; and that the legal requirement to deliver a “detention act” based, date and place “is routinely ignored.”
The report adds that, although the law orders to present charges within a week, there were detainees that remained “months or years” in preventive detention. After protests that occurred during the year, independent media reported “more than 684” arrests; Justice 11J estimated that 676 of the more than 1,400 arrested for the protests of July 2021 were still imprisoned until March, and that more than 10 March protesters in Santiago continued in preventive detention until October, without open criminal investigations.
Censorship, Communication Law and Press Aggressions
On freedom of expression and press, the report indicates that the Communist Party and the Government “repeatedly restrict the public debate on sensitive issues and that several laws criminalize aspects of the expression, including the Social Communication Law,” which entered into force on October 1 “and” increased the control of the regime on information, the press and other media, and social networks through the Institute of Communication and Information. “
In addition, he documented pressures, aggressions and arbitrary arrests against journalists. In June, for example, the independent journalist Julio Aleaga Pesant was fined 3,000 pesos for “enemy propaganda” following critical publications in networks.
The Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and Press (ICLEP) registered until September 99 arbitrary arrests, 179 aggressive actions and threats, 126 physical aggressions and 36 people – among artists, influencers, reporters, activists, political prisoners and religious leaders – imprisoned or under house arrest “for exercising their right to freedom of expression.” The document also records restrictions and harassment to foreign correspondents, which causes self -censorship during their stays on the island.
The state control over the media – indueño of the entire written and radiotevisive press – extends to access to information and the importation of printed materials. The law prohibits the distribution of publications considered “counterrevolutionary” or criticism “for reasons of national security” and sanctions with between three and eight years in prison the “propaganda against the constitutional order.” The possession of materials such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or foreign newspapers has derived, according to the report, in harassment and arrests.
Transnational repression
The document identifies acts of “transnational repression.” In June, state security agents sent threatening messages by WhatsApp to José Jasán Nieves Cárdenas, director of The touch (Independent medium based in Florida), and tried to intimidate him with a video that suggested surveillance against his home.
Labor rights: Without independent unions or strike right
The labor chapter describes a control framework that “does not recognize the right of workers to form and join independent unions”, since it only admits to the Central of Workers of Cuba (CTC), controlled by the PCC, as a trade union confederation. “The law does not provide the right to strike” and replaces collective bargaining with a process subject to government approval and CTC. The International Labor Organization has expressed concern about the union monopoly, the prohibition of strike and negotiation restrictions.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Security, responsible for applying labor laws, “enforced” the norms, but – according to observers cited by the report – to maintain the primacy of the CTC and avoid independent unions, not to guarantee freedom of association. The document adds that workers trying to organize suffer police harassment and reprisals; that the government strongly influences the Judiciary, limiting effective resources; And that, in practice, the prohibition of independent unions leaves workers without channels to defend themselves against discriminatory dismissals or abuse.
Regarding wages and working conditions, the State sets a minimum wage “below the poverty line”, establishes a standard week of 44 hours and a month of vacation paid for every 11 months worked, but its compliance is unequal, especially in the non -state sector. Occupational health and safety inspections exist, although the report itself acknowledges that the shortage of resources prevents correcting risky conditions, that there are few inspectors and that employers usually ignore the standards. In hospitals, civil organizations reported unhealthy conditions and long days for medical staff without sufficient access to food.
The report also describes state intermediation in foreign companies (hotel, tourism, mining), where workers are hired and paid by the State in pesos, with salaries that represent “a small fraction” of what companies deliver to the government in foreign exchange. In cases where payment is direct, employees “must deliver a significant part of their salary to the State.”
Childhood, child labor and marriage
The Cuban law prohibits the worst forms of child labor and sets the minimum age of employment in 17 years (with exceptions for 15 and 16 with permits). However, the document states that state media recognized in June the existence of child labor in “certain communities”, and schools in Santiago de Cuba indicated an increase in cases. The report indicates that the sanctions are lower than for similar crimes and that there is no public information about its application. Regarding marriage, the Family Code sets the minimum age in 18 years, and forced marriage is punished with sentences from seven to 15 years – and up to 30 or life imprisonment if the victim is a minor -, with effective application, according to the report.
Shelter, religious freedom and treats
In international protection, the Constitution provides for asylum and in July the National Assembly approved a law to regulate the refuge and asylum process, although the scope of cooperation with UNHCR “is not public”. In religious freedom and human trafficking, the document refers to the specialized annual reports of the State Department for more details.
