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During 2025, the support of evangelicals for other actions of independent civil society against Castroist policies continued unabated.

In June 2025, the state telecommunications monopoly, ETECSA, announced a drastic increase in internet and mobile phone rates, and a covert partial dollarization of mobile service by promoting plans in foreign currencies (to which the average Cuban did not have access). Understandably, this created considerable displeasure and social unrest.

Among the most notable reactions was that of students from several universities, who raised their voices through open letters and social media posts. They complained that the “price hike” limited their access to the internet, affecting their studies and daily lives. Although they did not identify themselves as opposition members, their critical stance was unusual in the context of universities completely under the control of the regime. Some faced pressure and warnings from academic or youth authorities, but this did not prevent their claims from resonating among the public.

Several voices from the evangelical world, ignoring the risks of government repression, criticized the price hike. The Assemblies of God church protested with a statement on June 7, which criticized the effect of the price increase not only on the student body, but on Cuban society as a whole:

“As an evangelical church, our congregation is made up of housewives, workers, farmers, students, children, and retired elderly people. Therefore, we are part of a people who are deeply concerned about the ill-advised measures implemented by ETECSA. These are measures that affect not only the students, but the entire Cuban family.

“As an institution, we expect a response from ETECSA and the government that will result in the least possible harm to the Cuban people. Currently, we face complex and difficult hardships. Therefore, we believe that an additional burden, such as the one implied by these measures, will only serve to further aggravate the situation of our nation.

“In keeping with the Christian duty of compassion, expressed in the letter to the Romans: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15 TLA). We join our voice and feelings to the national outcry, hoping to obtain a solution that brings peace and tranquility.”

Leaders from registered and unregistered churches applauded the Declaration, in another show of unity. Abdiel Morfa, vice president of the Western Baptist Convention, expressed: “May the justice of our God be felt throughout our homeland, while we pray that our people turn their eyes to Jesus Christ, the only way to the Heavenly Father.” For its part, the “Restoring Lives” ministerial network, led by Apostle Osdeni Machado in Trinidad, affirmed “its total commitment and support for what was expressed by our brothers and sisters of the Assemblies of God.”

And a miracle occurred, perhaps due to the pressure of circumstances or stimulated by the courage of others. The Presbyterian-Reformed Church, after decades of silence and leadership aligned with the regime, stated a Pentecost communiqué. It mentioned that the convergence of several crises had placed Cuban society in a dead end, perhaps with a very narrow way out, in which the government’s appeals to “resistance,” “resilience,” “creativity,” “patience,” and “trust” have become irrelevant formulas for the people. Clearly, this is a symptom of exhaustion of the ideological reserve that sustained the Revolution under the premise of building real socialism.

The communiqué, issued on Pentecost, acknowledged that:

“The inconsistency of the official discourse is becoming increasingly evident when today, for example, so many families live in fear in homes in danger of collapse, while enormous hotels are erected in front of them like inert and arrogant ghosts scraping the sky; or when laws, decrees, and measures do not address the most basic needs of the people, but rather plunge them into ever-greater poverty.”

Will the courage shown by other evangelicals for years in the public arena, raising their voices with the values of faith and resisting totalitarian lawlessness, inspire other silent voices with Christian civic courage?

Luminous September: Prayers, Vigils, Protests

September 2025 marked another peak in the civic resistance of the evangelical community.

On the 13th of that month, evangelical congregations led vigils for the salvation of the country and commemorated the 35th anniversary of the opposition Cuban Democratic Directorate.

In one vigil in Camagüey, a pastor prayed to God: “[T]hat you take control of Cuba, of our island; that you begin to take control of our leaders, for a just and transparent leadership that seeks the well-being of all Cubans. Lord, so that respect for human rights and freedom of expression may be promoted. Lord, so that there may be reconciliation between the different political and social sectors in the country (...) Cuba for Christ!” Another minister, in Granma, cried out “for those who are unjustly imprisoned, because of so much injustice there are mothers weeping. ... Let us cry out to Him who has the authority to break every chain, every bond, every dictatorship.”

Days later, another invitation arrived, even more massive: the “One Thousand Hours of Prayer for Cuba” initiative, launched by the pastor of the Pentecostal Evangelical Church of Puerto Padre in Las Tunas. In a video in which he spoke to the camera inside his church, with hundreds of believers standing behind him, he called on Christians across the country to join a day of prayer for the situation the island was facing. The message, shared on the congregation’s Facebook page, stated: “[T]he life of our people is becoming more complex every day, it is becoming more difficult every day, and we feel that we can no longer bear this life we are leading. ... We are asking God to make a supernatural intervention in Cuba that will bring a radical answer to all our needs and problems.”

In late September, public demonstrations against the regime added another milestone. Around that time, several unregistered churches rented space at the Tropicana Cabaret in Santiago de Cuba to hold a massive worship and revival service. But when the event began, the venue’s management received orders from the Communist Party: they had to suspend everything. Dozens of worshippers already inside were forced to leave, and hundreds outside were denied entry.

Jorge Luis Pérez, leader of the Rehobot Movement, described the event as “a great act of censorship” because, he said, the authorities were terrified of large gatherings. But the cancellation turned into an act of resistance. From the road leading to Tropicana, praises, hymns, and declarations of faith emanated. The 3,000 believers who were refused entrance to the canceled event gathered in the streets outside and joined together in praises, hymns, and declarations of faith.

Uniting in the Face of Crisis

Similarly, the evangelical community’s prominence within Cuba’s otherwise downtrodden civil society was once again highlighted in the face of the “Haitianization” of the national economy. And in that scenario, unity among independent church alliances was strengthened.

In April 2025, the ACC, represented by apostolic leaders such as Jorge Mayím Travieso, the AIEC (whose demise some doomsayers had predicted) in Havana, represented by Moisés de Prada, and the Pastoral Unit, represented by Baptist chaplain Michel Penichet, met. There, registered and unregistered denominations alike denounced the conditions of extreme poverty in which more than 89% of the population live and the repressive actions against religious leaders. The leaders planned to better coordinate their efforts to serve the people through channels independent of the State during the current humanitarian crisis.

Likewise, after Hurricane Melissa struck on October 29, 2025, the mobilization of large and small denominations was key to delivering humanitarian aid to those in need when the near bankrupt government was unable to do so. The Cibercuba news portal described the Fifth Baptist Church of Bayamo, in Granma province, as “a symbol of solidarity and direct action” after its Youth Department organized a donation drive at the Bayamo Technical School for affected families. The Methodist church also attracted media attention for its work in eastern Cuba.

The words and acts of hope of the church reached even the most remote parts of the island, as did the voices and civic engagement of the evangelical community. The cry of “Cuba for Christ!” (a common chant in Cuban churches) was double-edged: both spiritual and civic.

When the history books tell the story of the final days of the Cuban regime and the dawn of democracy, the role of the evangelical churches in giving hope and inspiration will deserve an entire chapter.