Censorship: Cuba

Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is governed by president Raul Castro, an almost evil "ruler". Cuba is one of the countries that is most censored by their government. 


The government censors anything from outside Cuba; citizens cannot watch or listen to independent, private, or foreign broadcasts, and their television is subject to increasing restrictions. Cubans cannot read books, magazines or newspapers unless they are approved by the government. 
Since the Communist party started, the capital had 135 working cinemas. Today, only 20 are still open. 


Mobile phones were banned up until 2008, with the exception of people who needed them for work. 

Al movies allowed for the citizens to watch were censored by the Instituto Cubano de Arte y Industria Cinematográfico. Even music was censored. Artists like the Beatles were banned as an example of "a decadent capitalist culture". 

The internet in Cuba, is the most tightly controlled internet in the world. 
It has surprisingly low connections, limited bandwidth, ridiculous high costs, and of course, censorship. 

The government categorizes the internet to two types of plans. The population is restricted to a "national" internet, that is restricted to a simple e-mail service. This costs 1. 20 euros per hour. Foreign visitors that allow Cubans to use their computers are harassed, and prosecuted. The second plan is the "international" plan, which has access to the entire internet, no censorship, but it is restricted to politicians and visitors from other countries. 

But slowly, this is starting to relax. In 2007, it became legal for citizens to buy a computer. 

Still, people have found a way to move around these restrictions. A black market is known to have been founded, where citizens can buy accounts of old politicians that have died and their accounts are still active. 

This struggle has to stop. 

Raul Castro; President of Cuba

Castro treats Cuba like an overprotective mother. He claims that their citizens have "freedom", but he doesn't even allow them to leave the country for so long. Recently, this has changed, since at the beginning of October, 2012, Castro gave a speech that talked about how people traveling abroad will face fewer trouble while trying to leave. Finally, some change.