The Cuban State and its repressive organs remain determined to eliminate the El Toque multimedia platform and suppress the impact of the work we do as a press outlet and as an organization of Cubans committed to achieving a democratic and free country. Since mid-September 2024, we have documented a new escalation of repression by the State Security apparatus against people on the island who have been in contact with our team or collaborated with the outlet in the past.

The new operation involves an ongoing criminal persecution for the alleged crime of “mercenarism,” which was incorporated into Article 143 of the Penal Code after its reform in 2022. Receiving funds used to carry out activities “contrary to the Cuban State and its constitutional order,” is now a crime punishable by between four and ten years imprisonment.

The persecution includes sessions of psychological torture lasting more than eight hours at the headquarters of the State Security investigation unit, known as Villa Marista in Havana. At Villa Marista, they take “statements” from individuals who have no responsibility in the agenda or operations of our organization.

The persecution against El Toque continues to claim victims, as evidenced by recent complaints on social media. The repressive actions share a common denominator: the threat to turn people into defendants and send them to prison if they refuse to testify in the alleged criminal case against El Toque. This level of harassment has led to the hurried exile of colleagues whose “crime” (in the eyes of the repressive forces) is participating in professional training programs and managing social impact projects.

El Toque denounces that the island’s government wishes to proceed with a judicial process lacking guarantees, which could result in charges against members of our team or, even worse, the imprisonment of innocent people who fall within the criminal reach of the Cuban regime. This is an action that has been repeated in the past against thousands of people, including journalists and collaborators of other independent media outlets.

We alert our community of users, colleagues from the independent Cuban press, civil society organizations, and human rights defenders, encouraging them to remain vigilant in the face of the operation criminalizing civic self-management and independent journalism in Cuba. The totalitarian regime of the Communist Party seeks scorched earth and seems willing to continue increasing the number of political prisoners and victims of its actions.

This article was translated into English from the original in Spanish.