✊ 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
38,770
public reports
🪧 Protest/strike
8,843
acts of resistance
🚔 Repression events
29,895
state response/detentions
📍 Provinces active
21/16
with logged events
🏴 Movements tracked
26
civil-society / opposition
📰 News-sourced
1,452
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 | 1,817 |
| 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 | 3,324 |
| Date | Type | Province | Group | Summary | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-31 | PROTEST | Havana | NEWS_REPORTED | La Seguridad del Estado detiene a dos madres y abre una investigación por una protesta en La Habana | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-31 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Sismólogo cubano Enrique Arango critica la desaparición del CITMA: «Día triste para la ciencia cubana» | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-31 | REPRESSION | Villa Clara | NEWS_REPORTED | El Tribunal Supremo confirma la condena de José Gabriel Barrenechea a seis años de prisión por protestar | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-31 | PROTEST | La Habana | UNKNOWN | [ES original; pending translation] La Seguridad del Estado detiene a dos madres y abre una investigación por una protesta en La Habana — #SOSCuba: La #SeguridadDelEstado detiene a dos madres por protestar en #ElFanguito después de más de 24 horas de #Apagón y amenaza con represalias a quienes hagan publicaciones en las redes sociales. | ↗ HR_PRESS |
| 2026-07-30 | PROTEST | — | NEWS_REPORTED | ¡Cuba colapsa! El régimen culpa a los ladrones y pide respeto para Díaz-Canel | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-07-30 | PROTEST | Havana | NEWS_REPORTED | Noticiero Martí Noticias | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-07-30 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Vecino de Hialeah condenado por facilitar la entrada de cubanos a EEUU con supuestas ciudadanías españolas | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-30 | PROTEST | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Muere Wilfredo Torres Iribar, el médico que llevó el trasplante de médula ósea a Cuba | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-30 | PROTEST | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Protesta en El Fanguito obliga a restablecer la electricidad tras dos días de apagón | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-30 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | El “Spiderman Cubano” lanza un ultimátum al régimen castrista desde prisión | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-30 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | “No quisiéramos protestar, pero nos obligan”: manifestante de El Fanguito denuncia citaciones y multas | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-30 | PROTEST | — | UNKNOWN | [ES original; pending translation] Supremo ratifica condenas contra cuatro presos políticos de Encrucijada — El alto tribunal argumentó que la protesta pacífica causó una "perturbación real del orden público", desestimando los derechos de libertad de expresión amparados por la Constitución. | ↗ USAGM_PRESS |
| 2026-07-30 | REPRESSION | Camagüey | NEWS_REPORTED | Denuncian arresto de cuatro jóvenes tras protesta por agua y apagones en Camagüey | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-07-30 | PROTEST | Havana | Movimiento San Isidro | "Soy un negrito del cerro y Marco Rubio me dio la bienvenida" | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-07-30 | REPRESSION | Havana | NEWS_REPORTED | "No hay una foto mía caminando por El Cerro" — destierro sin papeles | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-07-30 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | "Todo el mundo tiene algo que decir pero tiene miedo" | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-07-30 | REPRESSION | — | Movimiento San Isidro | 11J: 'No fue solo el Movimiento San Isidro, fue años acumulándose' | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-07-30 | REPRESSION | — | Movimiento San Isidro | "No apelé para no legitimar el sistema legal cubano" | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-07-30 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Luis Manuel: '5 años viendo solo paredes y aprendiendo a caminar' | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-07-30 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Luis Manuel: 'Con Michael puede ser una jugarreta' | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-07-30 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Luis Manuel tras 5 años preso: 'Solo veía paredes grises' | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-07-30 | REPRESSION | Havana | Cubalex | Casi dos meses detenido: el caso del humorista Eddy Ceballos evidencia graves violaciones al debido proceso | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-30 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | José Miguel Martínez: En prisión “vivíamos en condiciones más cercanas a las de un animal que a las de un ser humano” | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-30 | PROTEST | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Madres cubanas cierran la avenida 23 en protesta por los apagones | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-30 | PROTEST | Havana | NEWS_REPORTED | La Habana vive más protestas: quemas y cacerolazos se extienden por varios municipios | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-30 | DETENTION_WAVE | — | UNKNOWN | [ES original; pending translation] José Miguel Martínez: En prisión “vivíamos en condiciones más cercanas a las de un animal que a las de un ser humano” — El expreso político del Grupo de los 75 relata las condiciones de reclusión que enfrentó durante siete años y medio, las presiones contra su familia y los obstáculos para recibir atención médica en cárceles cubanas. The post José Miguel Martínez: En prisión “vivíamos en condiciones más cercanas a las de un animal que a las de un ser humano” appeare | ↗ DISSIDENT_PRESS |
| 2026-07-30 | REPRESSION | — | UNKNOWN | [ES original; pending translation] El ICE busca añadir 5.500 camas de detención para migrantes en Miami y otras ciudades de EE UU — El gobernador de California arremete contra Trump por el uso político de redadas migratorias y califica el operativo de "táctica del manual de un dictador” | ↗ DISSIDENT_PRESS |
| 2026-07-30 | PROTEST | La Habana | UNKNOWN | [ES original; pending translation] La Habana vive más protestas: quemas y cacerolazos se extienden por varios municipios — Vecinos de #LaHabana y Santiago de #Cuba desafían al régimen por los apagones y llegan reportes de humo, bloqueos de calles y tensión en distintos puntos. | ↗ HR_PRESS |
| 2026-07-29 | REPRESSION | — | Prisoners Defenders | Varios gobiernos están maniobrando para liberar presos políticos en Cuba, revela ONG | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-07-29 | STRIKE | — | Cubalex | Noticiero Martí Noticias | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-07-29 | STRIKE | — | Cubalex | Noticiero Martí Noticias | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-07-29 | REPRESSION | Camagüey | Cubalex | Cubalex denuncia grave riesgo de contagio por tuberculosis en prisión cubana | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-29 | REPRESSION | Havana | NEWS_REPORTED | Rusia lo declaró muerto, pero este cubano sigue vivo y está prisionero en Ucrania | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-29 | REPRESSION | — | UNKNOWN | [ES original; pending translation] "Me van a sacar de prisión con una pala o en una caja de muerto", el Spiderman de Cuba exige fecha de juicio — El preso político cubano Javier Martín Gutiérrez, conocido como el “Spiderman cubano”, advirtió desde la prisión de máxima seguridad Combinado del Este que iniciará una huelga de hambre si en seis meses las autoridades no fijan una fecha para su juicio. | ↗ USAGM_PRESS |
| 2026-07-29 | REPRESSION | Havana | NEWS_REPORTED | Noticiero Martí Noticias | ↗ YOUTUBE |
| 2026-07-29 | STRIKE | Villa Clara | Cuba Decide | Guillermo del Sol supera los 40 días en huelga de hambre: una protesta extrema ante la ausencia de recursos efectivos en Cuba | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-29 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | “Los golpes y las celdas de castigo son reales”: el testimonio de Ángel Castro Carrera tras su excarcelación | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-28 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Juicio contra Damián Valdez Galloso se aplaza hasta 2027 | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-28 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Cubano acusado de trata escapó de ICE: resurge caso que avergüenza a la policía | ↗ News |
| 2026-07-28 | REPRESSION | — | NEWS_REPORTED | Arrestan a instructores cubanos en Miami-Dade por facilitar la obtención de licencias de conducir | ↗ News |