Cuban Churches Face Destruction

Cuban church leaders are increasingly concerned about the repercussions facing Christians in Cuba as the repression of the country's house churches appears to be on the rise. In September 2005, the government put forth new directives which required all house churches to be registered. Since then, government oppression appears to be intensifying.

A news release from Christian Solidarity Worldwide on January 9, 2006 reported on the pressure facing three churches in western Cuba. In August 2005, members of the Baptist Church of El Recreo in Guantánamo Province were evicted from their building that the government is now converting into a school. In December, the Yamaniguey Baptist Church was threatened with demolition. While the destruction has been delayed to this point, the order has not been rescinded. Then, on December 14, the church building of the Pentecostal Church of Alamar, a suburb of Havana, was destroyed by government officials. The official reason for the destruction is that the building was an "illegal construction." the rest