Although Christians bear the brunt of government restrictions, Santeria practitioners and Rastafarians also have been jailed, and Muslims and other religious groups face discrimination. For instance, the regime blocked leading Muslims from traveling for health and religious reasons.
Repression and intimidation are constant. Security agents visit religious services, encouraging self-censorship. House church leaders are threatened with loss of employment and denial of education for their children. COVID rules were used to harass congregations. Importation of religious materials is sometimes difficult. Moreover, according to State: “The government used social media to harass and defame religious leaders, including Facebook posts and online editorials publicly targeting religious leaders or groups.”
Throughout 2022, Cubans were interrogated on returning from or when planning to go to the U.S. In one case, security personnel told a religious activist that “they knew of her travel plans and warned her to stop associating with people deemed to be working to subvert the Cuban government or she would not be allowed to enter the country upon her return.” Regime agents later placed a large container in her front yard to obscure their frequent visits.
A number of religious leaders have been driven abroad. Earlier this year, Pastor Carlos Sebastián Hernández Armas, secretary-general of the Baptist Convention of Western Cuba, fled with his sons after criticizing government repression. Pastor Alain Toledano, long targeted by Cuban security forces, was told to “leave the country within 30 days or face imprisonment.” Father David Pantaleón, from the Dominican Republic and head of the island’s Jesuits, was expelled because of his criticism of the regime.
Last January, Berta Soler, head of Ladies in White, and her husband, Ángel Moya, “announced a campaign seeking the release of all political prisoners from [last year’s] protests. Subsequently, authorities again subjected Soler and Moya to repeated arbitrary detentions. These detentions often included interrogations at police stations and fines.”
Reverend Yordanys Díaz Arteaga, who heads the Christian Reformed Church of Cuba, was detained and then put under house arrest in February. That appears to have been retaliation for his church’s leaving the Cuban Council of Churches. Reported Christian Solidarity Worldwide: