Cuban NGO reports highest citizen violence since 2022

Cuban NGO Cubalex has reported a sharp increase in citizen violence during July, marking the highest level of such incidents since 2022. The organization's latest report details 37 homicides, 9 femicides, and 4 suicides within the month, alongside 168 reported acts of violence and insecurity. These incidents primarily involved robberies and assaults, often with the use of machetes or firearms, and frequently targeted individuals in vehicles or aimed at stealing electrical equipment.

The report highlights the ongoing crises in energy, water, and healthcare, which Cubalex attributes to the systematic deterioration of living conditions. Despite the alarming figures, the report notes that the projected annual homicide rate of 4.71 per 100,000 inhabitants remains lower than in many other Latin American countries.

In addition to violence, Cubalex documented 199 public protests in July, mostly "cacerolazos" (pot-banging demonstrations) protesting power outages and water shortages. While this number represents a decrease from June's record of 253 protests, the NGO also recorded 388 repressive events, an increase from the previous month. This rise in repression is suggested to be linked not only to protest volume but also to heightened surveillance around the fifth anniversary of major anti-government protests on July 11.

The NGO further reported 817 incidents of harassment, including increased violations against individuals deprived of liberty, police surveillance operations, threats, and arbitrary detentions. Cubalex also denounced three preventable deaths in prisons due to medical negligence and criticized conditions such as solitary confinement, overcrowding, and inadequate access to food and water. The report points to the impact of U.S. oil sanctions exacerbating Cuba's deep energy crisis.