Miami (January 30, 2026) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) expresses its strongest condemnation of the recent escalation of arbitrary detentions, house arrests, and police harassment targeting independent journalists in Cuba, recorded over the past several weeks. The organization warns that there can be no press freedom under a system of permanent persecution and police control, and that the sustained repression of those who report the news constitutes an open and systematic denial of society’s right to be informed.
This new offensive against independent journalism is taking place amid a profound economic and social crisis facing the island, further aggravated in recent weeks by an unprecedented energy crisis that intensified following the arrest of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, with power outages lasting 20 or more hours a day in large regions of the country and with no clear prospects for a solution.
In this critical scenario, independent journalism plays an essential role in documenting the daily reality of the population, giving voice to social discontent, and exposing the consequences of the crisis. Precisely for this reason, the authorities have intensified mechanisms of repression to prevent journalists from freely reporting on these events.
Among the most recent incidents, IAPA documented the following cases:
- Henry Constantín Ferreiro, director of La Hora de Cuba and vice president of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information in that country, was detained on three occasions so far in January—on the 14th, 20th, and 27th—and subsequently released without formal charges.
- Alejandra García, a contributor to La Hora de Cuba, was detained along with Constantín on January 27 and released hours later.
- Yoani Sánchez, director of the digital daily 14ymedio and a member of the IAPA Board of Directors, was detained on January 28 on a public street in Havana by State Security agents, who forced her to return to her home with orders not to leave “until tomorrow.” The action reportedly aimed to prevent journalists from attending a diplomatic event.
- Reinaldo Escobar, Sánchez’s husband and a columnist for 14ymedio, was intercepted by agents as he was leaving his building and likewise forced to return to his home. In this case as well, the action served the same purpose as in Sánchez’s case.
- Boris González Arenas, an independent journalist, was prevented from leaving his home on January 28.
- Ángel Cuza Alfonso, an independent reporter, was detained on January 27 in Havana by State Security agents and taken to a police unit in the Playa municipality, just 24 hours after being released following six months in prison without trial.
- José Gabriel Barrenechea, a writer and independent journalist, was sentenced on January 15 to six years in prison for the offense of public disorder. Barrenechea had been detained in 2024 after taking part in a peaceful protest.
- Jorge Fernández Era, a writer and contributor to independent media outlets, was detained on January 18 and held incommunicado for more than 15 hours.
- Likewise, opposition figures Berta Soler, Ángel Moya, Manuel Cuesta Morúa, Marthadela Tamayo, and Dagoberto Valdés, among others, were also subjected to police operations with the apparent intention of preventing their participation in a diplomatic event, in a context of a heavy repressive deployment.
“The Cuban regime has chosen to respond to a deep economic and social crisis with more repression and more censorship,” said Pierre Manigault, president of the IAPA. “Arbitrary detention, constant surveillance, and imprisonment are being used to silence journalists who are trying to fulfill their duty to inform at one of the most critical moments the country has experienced in decades.”
Manigault, president of Evening Post Publishing Inc. of Charleston, South Carolina, added that “these abuses are not isolated incidents, but rather part of a deliberate strategy to prevent independent journalism from documenting the crisis, exposing social discontent, and breaking the information blockade imposed by the state.”
For her part, Martha Ramos, chair of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, warned that “the repeated use of brief detentions, incommunicado confinement, police summonses, and disproportionate sentences constitutes a system of punishment designed to instill fear and discourage journalistic coverage of a reality the government is trying to conceal.”
Ramos, editorial director of Organización Editorial Mexicana (OEM), emphasized that “arbitrary detentions, threats, constant surveillance, confiscation of equipment, and restrictions on movement are practices widely documented by the IAPA and are part of a state policy aimed at stifling independent journalism precisely when information is most needed by Cuban society.”
The IAPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press and expression in the Americas. It comprises more than 1,300 publications from the western hemisphere and is based in Miami, Florida, United States.
