✊ Civil Resistance — Protest & Repression Map 1959–2026 · where resistance & repression are happening
⚠ Why this section is deliberately coarse
This is a human-rights record of publicly-reported events — it tracks where protest and state repression occur (province / town level), so we can see where resistance to the regime is strongest. It is intentionally not precise: no individual activists are located or named, no real-time positions, no planned actions. A precise, named map of dissident activity would be a gift to the regime's security services — so we document repression and resistance without creating a targeting list. Group attribution reflects public claims (UNPACU, Clandestinos, Autodefensas de Cuba, independents) only.✊ Logged events
38,769
public reports
🪧 Protest/strike
8,843
acts of resistance
🚔 Repression events
29,894
state response/detentions
📍 Provinces active
21/16
with logged events
🏴 Movements tracked
26
civil-society / opposition
📰 News-sourced
1,451
independent-press reports
🏴 Resistance Movements & Civil Society 26
recognized movements — listing documents & validates them as part of the human-rights record
Damas de Blanco
SUPPRESSED
▸ Human rights · 2003 · Havana
Women relatives of political prisoners; weekly silent marches.
👤 Berta Soler
detail
Formed in 2003 after the Black Spring crackdown, the Ladies in White march after Mass demanding the release of political prisoners; awarded the EU Sakharov Prize in 2005.
⚠ Members face routine 'acts of repudiation' and mass Sunday detentions.
Estado de SATS
SUPPRESSED
▸ Artists · 2010 · Havana
Cultural-political project for open debate.
👤 Antonio Rodiles
detail
A Havana project hosting debates, art and the #TodosMarchamos campaign for political-prisoner release.
⚠ Founder Antonio Rodiles beaten and detained; the project pushed underground.
UNPACU
SUPPRESSED
Unión Patriótica de Cuba
▸ Civil resistance · 2011 · Santiago de Cuba
Largest grassroots civil-resistance movement; nonviolent protest and mutual aid.
👤 José Daniel Ferrer
detail
Founded 2011 in Santiago de Cuba, UNPACU is the country's largest opposition movement, organizing nonviolent protest, food aid and documentation of repression.
⚠ Leaders repeatedly detained; José Daniel Ferrer imprisoned multiple times, including after 11J 2021.
Somos+
SUPPRESSED
▸ Political · 2013 · Havana
Youth-oriented pro-democracy movement.
👤 Eliécer Ávila
detail
Founded by Eliécer Ávila, Somos+ promotes a generational, technology-savvy push for democratic reform.
⚠ Members detained; Ávila harassed and his equipment seized.
MSI
SUPPRESSED
Movimiento San Isidro
▸ Artists · 2018 · Havana
Artists and intellectuals against Decree 349 censorship.
👤 Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara
detail
Formed in 2018 in Old Havana's San Isidro district to oppose Decree 349's censorship of independent art; its 2020 hunger strike sparked the 27N movement.
⚠ Otero Alcántara and rapper Maykel Osorbo were jailed with multi-year sentences after 11J.
27N
SUPPRESSED
Movimiento 27N
▸ Artists · 2020 · Havana
Artist collective for freedom of expression.
detail
Born from the 27 November 2020 sit-in by ~300 artists outside the Culture Ministry demanding dialogue and an end to censorship.
⚠ Participants surveilled, detained and barred from travel.
Archipiélago
SUPPRESSED
▸ Civil resistance · 2021 · Havana
Citizen platform that organized the 15N civic march.
👤 Yunior García Aguilera
detail
A Facebook-organized platform that called the 15 November 2021 Civic March for Change; authorities blocked the march and besieged organizers' homes.
⚠ Founder Yunior García was besieged then forced into exile in Spain.
M-30-11
ACTIVE
Movimiento 30 de Noviembre Frank País
▸ Political · 1979 · Santiago de Cuba
Veteran opposition movement honoring Frank País.
detail
One of the older internal opposition movements, advocating peaceful democratic change since the late 1970s.
⚠ Members repeatedly imprisoned across decades.
CCDHRN
ACTIVE
Comisión Cubana de Derechos Humanos y Reconciliación Nacional
▸ Human rights · 1987 · Havana
Independent human-rights monitor; political-prisoner counts.
👤 Elizardo Sánchez
detail
The CCDHRN has documented political detentions and prisoner counts since 1987, providing one of the longest-running independent human-rights records on the island.
⚠ Members harassed and detained; reporting routinely censored.
MCL
ACTIVE
Movimiento Cristiano Liberación
▸ Political · 1988 · Havana
Christian-democratic movement; the Varela Project petition.
👤 Oswaldo Payá (founder, d. 2012)
detail
Founded by Oswaldo Payá in 1988, the MCL launched the Varela Project, a petition for a referendum on civil liberties that gathered tens of thousands of signatures.
⚠ Payá died in a 2012 car crash widely believed to be a state-engineered killing.
Directorio
ACTIVE
Directorio Democrático Cubano
▸ Exile support · 1990 · Exile
Exile group supporting internal nonviolent resistance.
detail
A Miami-based organization channeling support and visibility to nonviolent activists on the island.
Convivencia
ACTIVE
Centro de Estudios Convivencia
▸ Civil resistance · 2007 · Pinar del Río
Lay Catholic civil-society think tank in Pinar del Río.
👤 Dagoberto Valdés
detail
Founded by Dagoberto Valdés, Convivencia publishes proposals for a democratic transition and trains civil-society leaders.
⚠ Members face travel bans and surveillance; events disrupted.
FANTU
ACTIVE
Foro Antitotalitario Unido
▸ Civil resistance · 2010 · Villa Clara
Central-Cuba opposition coalition; hunger-strike activism.
👤 Guillermo Fariñas
detail
FANTU, led by Sakharov laureate Guillermo Fariñas in Santa Clara, coordinates opposition activity across Villa Clara.
⚠ Fariñas has endured dozens of hunger strikes and repeated detentions and beatings.
Damas de Apoyo / Ladies in Support
ACTIVE
▸ Human rights · 2010 · Havana
Women supporters marching alongside the Ladies in White.
detail
An auxiliary network of women who accompany the Ladies in White, expanding their weekly nonviolent witness.
⚠ Subject to the same Sunday detentions and acts of repudiation.
⚠ low-confidence — monitoring
Instituto Patmos
ACTIVE
▸ Religious freedom · 2013 · Villa Clara
Defends religious freedom and conscience.
👤 Mario Félix Lleonart
detail
An ecumenical initiative documenting violations of religious freedom and supporting persecuted pastors.
⚠ Affiliated pastors detained; founder forced into exile.
Cuba Decide
ACTIVE
▸ Political · 2015 · Exile
Initiative for a binding plebiscite on free elections.
👤 Rosa María Payá
detail
Led by Rosa María Payá, Cuba Decide campaigns internationally for a plebiscite to let Cubans decide on a transition to democracy.
⚠ Organizers on the island detained; campaign branded subversive by the state.
ASIC
ACTIVE
Asociación Sindical Independiente de Cuba
▸ Labor · 2016 · Havana
Independent labor union confederation.
detail
ASIC organizes workers outside the state-run CTC, documenting labor-rights abuses.
⚠ Organizers fired, detained and blacklisted.
MUAD
ACTIVE
Mesa de Unidad de Acción Democrática
▸ Political · 2016 · Havana
Coalition of opposition groups seeking a unified platform.
detail
MUAD unites multiple internal opposition organizations behind a common democratic-transition agenda.
⚠ Coordinators detained ahead of planned activities.
Prisoners Defenders
ACTIVE
▸ Prisoner advocacy · 2018 · Exile
Tracks Cuba's political-prisoner population.
👤 Javier Larrondo
detail
Madrid-based NGO publishing the most-cited monthly list of Cuban political prisoners, used by international bodies.
⚠ Its prisoner lists are used to document state repression at the UN and EU.
Clandestinos
ACTIVE
▸ Clandestine · 2020 · Havana
Anonymous direct-action collective; symbolic anti-regime acts.
detail
An anonymous network known for nighttime symbolic actions — painting slogans and defacing pro-government imagery — to puncture the climate of fear.
⚠ The state treats identified participants as serious criminal cases.
⚠ low-confidence — monitoring
Justicia 11J
ACTIVE
▸ Prisoner advocacy · 2021 · Exile
Documents and defends those detained in the 11 July 2021 protests.
detail
Justicia 11J maintains a public database of those arrested during and after the July 2021 protests, tracking sentences and prison conditions.
⚠ Volunteers face surveillance and threats; its data is suppressed on the island.
Autodefensas de Cuba
ACTIVE
▸ Clandestine · 2023 · Unknown
Emerging clandestine resistance network (low-confidence, monitor).
detail
A recently-claimed clandestine resistance network appearing on social media; details unverified and tracked at low confidence pending corroboration.
⚠ low-confidence — monitoring
Cubalex
IN EXILE
▸ Human rights · 2010 · Exile
Independent legal-aid and human-rights documentation center.
👤 Laritza Diversent
detail
Cubalex provides free legal information and documents rights violations; it relocated abroad after raids but continues casework on detentions.
⚠ Its Havana office was raided in 2016; staff interrogated and forced abroad.
OCDH
IN EXILE
Observatorio Cubano de Derechos Humanos
▸ Human rights · 2016 · Exile
Madrid-based monitor of repression and socioeconomic rights.
detail
The OCDH publishes monthly tallies of arbitrary detentions and annual reports on the human-rights situation in Cuba.
⚠ Its monitors on the island operate under constant risk of detention.
Alzados del Escambray
HISTORICAL
▸ Armed (historical) · 1960 · Villa Clara
Historical anti-Castro peasant insurgency (1960–1965).
detail
The Escambray rebellion saw thousands of peasants take up arms against the new government; it was crushed in the 'Lucha Contra Bandidos' campaign.
⚠ Forced relocations of families to Pinar del Río followed the campaign.
Alpha 66
HISTORICAL
▸ Armed (historical) · 1962 · Exile
Historical Miami-based exile paramilitary organization.
detail
One of the longest-standing exile paramilitary groups, formed in 1962 and conducting raids against Cuba during the Cold War.
🧊 3D Resistance Timeline EXPERIMENTAL
province columns grow with cumulative events — drag to orbit
🗺 Resistance strength by province
| Havana | 11,132 | 8057 | |
| Matanzas | 2,799 | 2415 | |
| Santiago de Cuba | 2,051 | 1627 | |
| Guantánamo | 1,799 | 1613 | |
| Villa Clara | 1,621 | 1301 | |
| Camagüey | 1,068 | 800 | |
| Pinar del Río | 842 | 711 | |
| Artemisa | 823 | 663 | |
| Las Tunas | 812 | 618 | |
| Sancti Spíritus | 774 | 595 | |
| Ciego de Ávila | 744 | 639 | |
| Granma | 585 | 451 | |
| Holguín | 569 | 476 | |
| Mayabeque | 515 | 438 | |
| Cienfuegos | 301 | 239 | |
| Isla de la Juventud | 168 | 155 | |
| La Habana | 85 | 40 | |
| Santiago | 4 | 4 | |
| Camaguey | 1 | ||
| Habana | 1 |
🏴 By claimed group
| UNKNOWN | 36,640 |
| NEWS_REPORTED | 1,816 |
| Cubalex | 132 |
| SPONTANEOUS | 62 |
| INDEPENDENT | 27 |
| UNKNOWN | 21 |
| OCDH | 10 |
| ARMED_RESISTANCE | 10 |
| POLITICAL_PRISONERS | 9 |
| Movimiento San Isidro | 9 |
| UNPACU | 6 |
| Prisoners Defenders | 6 |
| spontaneous | 4 |
| Damas de Blanco | 4 |
| MANUAL | 3 |
| Cuba Decide | 3 |
| Justicia 11J | 2 |
| Convivencia | 2 |
| spontaneous / Patria y Vida | 1 |
| Instituto Patmos | 1 |
| UNKNOWN | 1 |
📈 Events per year
| 1959 | 7 | |
| 1960 | 6 | |
| 1961 | 7 | |
| 1962 | 5 | |
| 1963 | 2 | |
| 1964 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 6 | |
| 1966 | 4 | |
| 1967 | 1 | |
| 1968 | 2 | |
| 1969 | 1 | |
| 1970 | 2 | |
| 1971 | 3 | |
| 1972 | 1 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |
| 1974 | 1 | |
| 1975 | 1 | |
| 1976 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 11 | |
| 1981 | 1 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
| 1985 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 1 | |
| 1987 | 2 | |
| 1988 | 2 | |
| 1989 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 2 | |
| 1991 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 3 | |
| 1994 | 8 | |
| 1995 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 3 | |
| 1997 | 5 | |
| 1998 | 6 | |
| 1999 | 526 | |
| 2000 | 611 | |
| 2001 | 502 | |
| 2002 | 547 | |
| 2003 | 833 | |
| 2004 | 695 | |
| 2005 | 522 | |
| 2006 | 654 | |
| 2007 | 999 | |
| 2008 | 1,204 | |
| 2009 | 1,971 | |
| 2010 | 1,673 | |
| 2011 | 1,775 | |
| 2012 | 1,590 | |
| 2013 | 1,481 | |
| 2014 | 1,482 | |
| 2015 | 2,113 | |
| 2016 | 2,209 | |
| 2017 | 1,716 | |
| 2018 | 1,482 | |
| 2019 | 1,498 | |
| 2020 | 1,140 | |
| 2021 | 1,802 | |
| 2022 | 1,297 | |
| 2023 | 1,317 | |
| 2024 | 1,800 | |
| 2025 | 1,904 | |
| 2026 | 3,323 |
| Date | Type | Province | Group | Summary | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-14 | DETENTION_WAVE | — | UNKNOWN | [ES original; pending translation] Venezuela excarcela a 131 presos políticos; Rubio: "Es un paso crucial" — El gobierno de Venezuela anunció este viernes la excarcelación de 131 presos políticos, una medida que se produce en paralelo al proceso de diálogo entre el gobierno interino y la oposición, auspiciado por Estados Unidos. El secretario de Estado estadounidense, Marco Rubio, aseguró que forma parte del proceso de reconciliación del país. “La recient | ↗ USAGM_PRESS |
| 2026-08-14 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Rubio califica a Fidel Castro de “fracaso absoluto” y advierte sobre los riesgos de seguir su modelo | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-08-14 | REPRESSION | Matanzas | NEWS_REPORTED | El desgarrador testimonio de Sissi Abascal | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-08-14 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | "Pedí la renuncia de Fidel y Raúl en plena reunión militar" | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-08-14 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | «Ese es mi delito»: le dieron 20 años por pedir que salieran Fidel y Raúl | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-08-14 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | "Me retiraron las pistolas y no vi más el sol" | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-08-14 | REPRESSION | Havana | Cubalex | Lismani Acosta Gómez lleva más de un mes en prisión provisional tras ser detenido durante un cacerolazo | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-14 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | De las Grandes Ligas a no tener nada: Yasiel Puig se declara en bancarrota | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-14 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Marco Rubio carga contra Fidel Castro: “Fue un fracaso en todo, menos en destruir Cuba” | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-14 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Vecino de Hialeah podría recibir más de 20 años de prisión por estos delitos | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-14 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | ICE intensifica arrestos en aeropuertos y las aerolíneas comienzan a poner límites | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-14 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | “Fue un fracaso absoluto, excepto en destruir Cuba”: Marco Rubio sobre Fidel Castro | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-14 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Marco Rubio retrata a Fidel Castro: 'Fue un completo fracaso en todo, excepto en destruir Cuba' | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-14 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Anna Bensi: “El objetivo del juicio es intimidar a todo el que alce la voz en Cuba” | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-13 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Transición en Cuba: Habla militar cubano condenado a 20 años tras purga de los 90 y causa de Ochoa | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-08-13 | REPRESSION | — | Cubalex | La instrumentación penal de “la intimidad” contra Anna Sofía Benítez y su madre | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-13 | REPRESSION | Havana | NEWS_REPORTED | Macabro hallazgo de un bebé en La Habana termina con la detención de una mujer | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-13 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | “Me torturaron por ser mitad cubano”: soldado ucraniano relata su cautiverio en Rusia | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-13 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Cubano de 70 años sentenciado a muerte recibe la inyección letal en Oklahoma | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-13 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | “Son muchas y diversas las violaciones a los derechos de los reclusos”: preso político | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-13 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Con precios topados, controles de beneficios y multas, las provincias anulan las reformas del Gobierno cubano | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-13 | DETENTION_WAVE | — | UNKNOWN | [ES original; pending translation] “Son muchas y diversas las violaciones a los derechos de los reclusos”: preso político — Marcos de la Luz Caballero Granados permanece en el Campamento de Prisioneros número 16, próximo al centro penitenciario de máximo rigor El Pitirre. The post “Son muchas y diversas las violaciones a los derechos de los reclusos”: preso político appeared first on Cubanet . | ↗ DISSIDENT_PRESS |
| 2026-08-13 | REPRESSION | Granma | NEWS_REPORTED | VIDEO: Ileana de la Guardia recuerda que Raúl Castro, con signos de "haber tomado", anunció la muert | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-08-12 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | De Cuba a Miami: las mujeres vinculadas con “El Cangrejo” | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-08-12 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | 🎨 Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara: cinco años de prisión convertidos en testimonio | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-08-12 | PROTEST | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Las Noticias Como Son | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-08-12 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Capturan a cubano que provocó un mortal accidente en Miami hace casi cuatro meses | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-12 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Camionero cubano detenido por ICE en Florida será deportado por este error | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-12 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Cubana declarada culpable por ocultar fraude al obtener la ciudadanía de EEUU | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-12 | PROTEST | — | NEWS_REPORTED | A pocos metros de mi puerta se ensayaba el “11J” | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-12 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | EE. UU. denuncia detención “sin fundamento” del luchador “Spiderman de Cuba” | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-12 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | “Tenemos todas las posibilidades de perder”: Anna Bensi y su madre podrían enfrentar hasta dos años de prisión | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-12 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Un prisionero de guerra ucraniano de origen cubano denuncia en la ONU los abusos del Ejército ruso | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-12 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | El régimen cubano lleva a juicio a la influencer Anna Bensi y su madre | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-12 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Tras un mes de prisión arbitraria, la activista Lumey Guzmán sufre 'un deterioro en su estado mental' | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-12 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Un soldado ucraniano de origen cubano denuncia tres años de tortura en una prisión rusa | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-12 | REPRESSION | — | Prisoners Defenders | Nuevo récord de presos políticos en Cuba, incluido un menor de 13 años | ↗ News |
| 2026-08-12 | PROTEST | La Habana | UNKNOWN | [ES original; pending translation] "No me den más, soy un niño", suplicó un manifestante de 13 años en protesta en La Habana — Prisoners Defenders denunció que Cuba cerró julio con 1.327 presos políticos, incluidos 36 nuevos casos vinculados en su mayoría a protestas sociales, entre ellos el de un niño de 13 años que habría sido golpeado y encarcelado tras manifestarse en La Habana. | ↗ USAGM_PRESS |
| 2026-08-12 | DETENTION_WAVE | La Habana | UNKNOWN | [ES original; pending translation] “No pienso pasar por esta vida sin probar mi potencial”: Spiderman escribe desde la cárcel — "Gracias por todo el apoyo", con esa frase comienza la carta que el luchador cubano de artes marciales mixtas y preso político Javier Martín Gutiérrez, conocido como “Spiderman”, envió desde la prisión del Combinado del Este a su prima Yuneisy Gutiérrez, residente en Estados Unidos. El mensaje llega en medio de la incertidumbre que rodea al deporti | ↗ USAGM_PRESS |
| 2026-08-12 | STRIKE | Santiago de Cuba | NEWS_REPORTED | Noticiero Martí Noticias | ↗ YOUTUBE |