Five years after Cuba's 11-J protests, hundreds still imprisoned as regime clings to power amid blackouts and mass exodus

The uprising that shattered the myth

On 10 July 2021, a Facebook user in San Antonio de los Baños called on neighbors to protest the endless blackouts and government neglect. The next day, thousands of Cubans took to the streets in Havana, Santa Clara, Santiago de Cuba and elsewhere, shouting “liberty” and demanding food, electricity and political change. It was the largest protest wave in Cuba since 1959. Andy García Lorenzo, then 23, walked to the protest in Santa Clara. He recalls that he wanted to “mix his individual anger with the people’s rage.”

It made sense to go out on the street. It changed my whole life, made me find a purpose.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel responded by calling revolutionaries “to the street” and giving the “order of combat.” Police and special forces violently repressed the demonstrations. Official sources confirmed at least one death; dozens were injured.

Repression and mass arrests

Within hours, a massive police operation swept the island. Sources differ, but between 1,500 and more than 2,000 people were detained. Around 700 to 1,000 were prosecuted, many after torture. Martha Perdomo’s sons, Jorge and Nadir Martín Perdomo, were sentenced to eight and six years respectively; she says they were tortured by the political police. The opposition artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, leader of the Movimiento San Isidro, was arrested before he could join the protests and later sentenced to five years for desecration and public disorder. Today his whereabouts remain unknown.

Hundreds still in prison on the fifth anniversary

Five years later, at least 300 people are still serving sentences linked to the 11-J protests, according to Johanna Cilanno of Amnesty International.

They are serving the longest sentences, in some cases exceeding 20 years, for crimes such as sabotage or sedition. One of the legacies of 11-J was precisely the state’s use of criminal law in a highly discretionary and exemplary manner.

Overall, Cuba now holds over 1,300 political prisoners, according to Prisoners Defenders. The regime used televised programmes to remind the population of the sentences, and the fear quelled protests throughout 2022.

A country in ruins: blackouts and exodus

The daily situation has worsened since 2021. Prolonged blackouts, sometimes lasting more than 24 hours, paralyse public services, schools and businesses. Food and medicine are scarce, poverty and infant mortality have risen, and public transport has collapsed because of fuel shortages. US sanctions imposed from January have deepened the economic strangulation. The population has shrunk from 11 million to under 10 million, driven by an unprecedented emigration of young and qualified professionals. In many neighbourhoods, the sound of banging pots (cacerolazos) has become a nightly ritual of anger.

The regime tightens its grip

Small protests have resurfaced despite the repression. The authorities have intensified preventive surveillance against dissidents, journalists and activists. “The profile of detainees has changed; now we see more young people expressing themselves through social media,” Cilanno noted. The memory of 11-J is so feared that the state deploys constant vigilance. Yet the slogan “Patria y vida” still echoes as a counter-anthem to the official “Patria o muerte.”