FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2025
FHRC Condemns Cuban Regime’s Internet Price Hike as Latest Act of Repression
Miami, FL – The Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FHRC) strongly condemns the Cuban regime’s recent internet price hike, calling it a blatant attempt to silence and control the population.
On May 30, the regime raised mobile data costs to levels most Cubans can’t afford — while most of the country is already enduring less than an hour of electricity a day. This is not policy; it is punishment. Students across the country have launched peaceful protests, refusing to accept what they rightly call a digital wall meant to isolate and demobilize them. In response, the regime has mocked their demands and refused to back down.
President Díaz-Canel claims the price hike is needed to avoid a “technological collapse,” but the truth is simpler: the regime has a cash flow crisis. After over six decades of economic failure and centralized mismanagement, it is now taxing basic freedoms—like access to the internet—to keep itself afloat.
“This has nothing to do with data—it’s about keeping control,” said FHRC President Tony Costa. “After ruining the country, they’re now making it more difficult for Cubans to pay for the little freedom they have left. The youth know what’s going on, and they’re refusing to stay quiet.”
FHRC calls for the immediate reversal of the internet rate increase and urges democratic governments and international institutions to condemn this policy as a violation of human rights and freedom of expression.