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OCC documented 542 protests and complaints in Cuba in October, 18.25% fewer than in September
Citizen insecurity topped the Cuban Observatory of Conflicts' tally for the third consecutive month, with 119 of October's 542 events, according to Martí Noticias and Cubanet.
The Cuban Observatory of Conflicts (OCC) documented 542 protests, complaints and critical expressions in Cuba in October 2026, according to its monthly tally reported by Martí Noticias and Cubanet. Citizen insecurity topped the record for the third consecutive month.
The tally includes 119 events related to insecurity, 104 linked to public services and 88 classified as challenges to the police state; within that last category, the OCC counted 24 in-person protests. Matanzas led insecurity complaints with 30 events, followed by Havana with 22.
'Robberies, assaults, homicides and other violent incidents reflect the growing deterioration of Cuban citizens' safety,' Oscar Casanella, a researcher at the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba, told Martí Noticias.
The total number of events fell 18.25% from September, when 663 were counted, but the OCC warned that the reduction does not amount to an improvement in living conditions. The report distinguishes that detailed record from a historical count using a different methodology, in which incidents held almost steady: 1,143 in October against 1,147 in September. The observatory specifies that the two figures cover different universes and should not be added together.
Among the incidents recorded, the report lists pot-banging protests over blackouts in Cabañas, in the Artemisa municipality of Mariel, on October 9 and 14, and a protest in Havana in which residents blocked Avenida de Boyeros with garbage containers on the 30th. Food, inflation and agriculture was the only category that grew, with 63 events.
The OCC recorded 85 events related to repressive acts. Casanella highlighted the denial of medicines and medical treatment to people in prison, even when their relatives try to provide them, and said those restrictions are used 'as a mechanism to break them.' The organization specifies that it is not possible in every case to establish that the denial of treatment follows a specific political order.
Sources: Martí Noticias · Cubanet · Serie Yamacoa: Protestas registradas por año (Observatorio Cubano de Conflictos (OCC))
Data updated: 2026-11-02T19:00:00.000Z