The media in Cuba is restricted, and freedom of the press and freedom of opinion are virtually absent. Government control of the Cuban media mainly takes place through selection, i.e. convenient news is published, controversial issues are avoided, but the highly literate Cuban population often knows how to read between the lines. For as far as it deserves praise, Cuban media do not seem to publish downright lies.

Despite government oppression, a struggling independent journalist movement has always been present in Cuba, and since the advent of the Internet dissident opinions are voiced more frequently. Famous bloggers such as Yoani Sanchez, with a readership of over a million, put Cuba´s overly restrictive and repressive propaganda system to the test.

However spectacular the impact of the internet on news reporting worldwide may be, Cuba continues being the country in Latin America with the lowest Internet access. Cubans are not allowed to have an Internet access at home, whereas other facilities such as Internet cafés are practically non-existent, or only available to foreigners.

And once you´ve found a way to access the web, criticizing government remains a dangerous enterprise: "Insulting officials in public" is a charge that carries three years imprisonment. Or, as so many journalists have been already, authors of government criticism are arrested simply for "dangerousness", without further ado. It is therefore no wonder Cuba features in the top of the world´s leading jailers of news reporters.

Besides Cuba´s massive state-controlled media machine and the struggling independent press, there is a third voice to be heard as well: that of Cuban exiles targeting both the Cuban government and an international audience with quite biased news reports. The result is a media landscape quite more complex to understand than might seem at first glance.

In any case, as a visitor to Cuba you will be unlikely to read or hear any dissident opinions in the country´s state-owned media channels. This does not mean that the Cuban media is entirely without merit. This section provides all on Cuban media available.