Controversy over homophobic and transphobic tweet by Abel Prieto

The former Minister of Culture and current president of Casa de las Américas, Abel Prieto Jiménez, is at the center of controversy following a tweet that has been labeled as homophobic and transphobic by various sectors of society on the island.

Despite having deleted the post from his account on the social network X, Prieto did not realize that his words were unwelcome by activists and individuals close to the LGBTIQ+ community, who took screenshots and shared them on other social media platforms.

"If anyone else thinks like Abel Prieto Jiménez, they should take off the mask. Enough of hypocrisy and homophobia behind the scenes," wrote activist Yadiel Cepero alongside a screenshot of the tweet.

In his post, Prieto says, “the system promotes a false diversity to hide the authentic one,” and his words were accompanied by images of members of the trans community, which the former minister criticizes, and another with indigenous people, whom he praises.

His words, besides being poorly received, faced criticism from another activist, who clarified to the bureaucrat that his photos were being misused.

"The people in the photo below in your tweet are not natives of Cuba. The few Taíno families that remain in eastern Cuba live in extreme poverty, and the people in the photo above are not responsible for that, it is entirely your fault," pointed out Dennis Valdés Pilar on Facebook.

This user also shared photos of the indigenous Cuban people living in Guantánamo and asked Abel Prieto to take care “of these people who need it more. Acknowledge their institutionalized homophobia and transphobia.”

For his part, activist Yoelkis Torres Tápanes compared the image shared by the current president of Casa de Las Américas with the one used by "the far right" to promote "policies in favor of equality."

"It is interesting to note the low attack against the trans community in a country where the Constitution states it is against discrimination, even more so when the so-called speeches for rights are discussed in the Assembly and are promoted for being vague and incoherent, because they are always saying one thing and doing another," said Torres Tápanes.

The same complainant asked several questions regarding this publication by Prieto, the most significant being: "Who takes responsibility for this attack?"