Christians in Cuba are facing extreme repression and even more severe human rights violations than usual this year as the regime condemns those accused of marching in the July 11 protests to outrageous prison sentences and Christians become an increasingly visible part of the anti-communist movement.

Cuba experienced some of the largest protests in its history this summer. An estimated 187,000 people in almost every municipality on the island marched peacefully on that day demanding an end to the communist regime. Massive protests again rocked Cuba on November 15, this time led in many cities by priests and nuns, who have increasingly taken on a leadership role in the anti-communist movement.

Christmas was once the biggest holiday in Cuba and remains the largest holy celebration in the Cuban exile community. In Cuba, however, the officially atheist Communist Party has endeavored for decades to eradicate Christianity outside of radical leftist “Liberation Theology” and allowed the Vatican to operate in the country only as a subordinate to regime. Christians outside of the Catholic Church, or Catholics who pointed out that the faith was at odds with the violence and repression of the region, have for decades faced beatings, torture, firing squads, and prolonged imprisonment.

“¡Viva Cristo rey!” (“Long live Christ the king!”) became common final words at Cuba’s firing squad walls in the 1960s as the Castro regime eliminated Christians.

Prominent members of the global anti-Castro movement fear that the number of Christians behind bars or otherwise persecuted in the country this Christmas may be far larger than in previous years due to the shock that the July 11 protests caused within the highest levels of power in the regime. The overtly Christian nature of the November 15 protests – leading to house arrests and orchestrated mob harassment of priests and nuns – has also exacerbated concerns of state security engaging in anti-Christian attacks.

“The communist regime in Cuba has always designated Christmas as a symbol of Christian resistance,” Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, the co-founder and spokesman for the Cuban Democratic Directorate (Directorio), told Breitbart News on Wednesday. “It has sought to stamp out the beautiful and unique way in which the Cuban people celebrate this beautiful tradition.”