Ten independent Cuban media organizations —operating both on the island or in exile— have created a digital platform where national and international audiences can monitor the release of political prisoners held by an authoritarian regime that has ruled Cuba for over 60 years.
According to its website, todoslibres.net utilizes data journalism to support and amplify the efforts of family members, activists, and civil society organizations, such as the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights, Cubalex, Justicia 11J, and Prisoners Defenders. The collective goal is to document and denounce the situation of citizens prosecuted for opposing the Communist Party of Cuba.
When visiting todoslibres.net, readers can find information about 170 individuals —out of 1,395 political prisoners— who were released starting on January 15 of this year. José Nieves, editor-in-chief of El Toque, one of the exiled media outlets participating in this coalition, stated that the release resulted from indirect negotiations between the Cuban government, the Vatican, and Joe Biden, former president of the United States.
The platform’s data highlights the types of crimes the Cuban regime used to imprison these citizens (not all of which are politically related), the dates of their detentions, and the total time served in prison. The media coalition clarifies on the website that the legal terms used to describe the releases, such as conditional freedom or extra-penal license, do not equate to true freedom. These terms leave the possibility open for authorities to re-incarcerate individuals if they choose.
“I’m pleased to present this product, as it represents an exceptional collaboration between Cuban media and civil society organizations that have spent years documenting this situation,” José Nieves said to members of the Network of Exiled Media Outlets (NEMO).
El Toque has collaborated with NEMO for the past year by organizing events for exiled media organizations and hosting Knowledge Exchange Sessions. In this virtual space, exiled media outlets share lessons on managing organizations in extremely challenging environments. Through the #TODOS initiative, colleagues from the Cuban media coalition have demonstrated how a minimum viable product (MVP) can be established in just five days.
The platform, named after the phrase “todos libres” (all free, referring to the political prisoners), will continue to be updated as more Cuban citizens are released. The coalition behind it is comprised of independent media outlets such as 14ymedio, Alas Tensas, Árbol Invertido, CiberCuba, El Estornudo, El Toque, Havana Times, La Hora de Cuba, Periodismo de Barrio, and Rialta. All these organizations encourage Cuban citizens to report on cases that are not yet known to the coalition or the civil society organizations involved in #TODOS.