A simple game of dominoes on a street in Camagüey was enough to once again highlight the discomfort of the Cuban regime in the face of any gesture of closeness that challenges its official narrative.
The image of the head of the U.S. Mission in Cuba, Mike Hammer, spending time playing with young Cubans sparked an angry —and revealing— response from one of the most symbolic figures of the repressive structure of the system: former spy Gerardo Hernández Nordelo.
From his official account, the current national coordinator of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) issued a message that oozes cynicism and desperation: “Don’t worry, Cuban children: Those who survive, the same ones who are blocking us, will invite you to play dominoes... #Cuba #CDRCuba #EndTheBlockade.”
In just one sentence, Hernández summarized the old propaganda script that the regime uses to justify its social and economic failure: the U.S. embargo—which they insist on calling "blockade"—as the sole reason for the deterioration of life in Cuba.
But its publication is not only a crude manipulation, but it also reveals the deep fear that any expression of alternative, direct, and popular diplomacy, like that embodied by Hammer, instills in the ruling elite.
A symbolic gesture that disturbs those in power
For the national coordinator of the CDR —one of the most discredited institutions of the official apparatus— Hammer's gesture represents a true symbolic outrage.
That a U.S. diplomat interacts directly with young Cubans in the streets, that territory historically claimed by the regime as a bastion of surveillance and control, undermines the narrative that the CDR have embodied for decades.
It is no coincidence that the phrase “the street belongs to the revolutionaries”, spoken by the dictator Fidel Castro in August 1995 - after repressing the demonstrations known as El Maleconazo - resonates uncomfortably against the images of Hammer engaging in conversation and playing dominoes in that same public space.
For the totalitarian regime in Cuba, which views urban space as a tool for political discipline, Hammer's use of that setting represents an ideological provocation: a commitment to the freedom of gathering, as opposed to control and denunciation.
The domino episode was neither improvised nor innocent. It is part of a series of symbolic actions through which the U.S. diplomat seeks to connect with the Cuban people from a human and horizontal perspective.
During his tours in provinces such as Villa Clara and Camagüey, Hammer has not only shared games or laughter; he has also listened to the testimonies of political prisoners, met with human rights activists, and paid tribute in religious venues with deep popular roots.
These simple gestures—yet full of meaning—contrast sharply with the ideological rigidity of the Cuban official apparatus, which does not tolerate the possibility of a direct link between the population and foreign representatives who question the regime.
Hammer's diplomacy—aware that significant social transformations require popular legitimacy—has opted for the everyday as a communication channel. And that, for the leaders of the Communist Party, is a threat.
The caricature of official impotence
The reaction of Gerardo Hernández cannot be understood merely as a propagandistic response. It is, in essence, a grotesque caricature of the institutional powerlessness of a regime that is incapable of preventing the collapse of its narrative.
Using the figure of the Cuban child “who survives” to criticize a diplomatic action reveals not only an opportunistic use of the misery they themselves have created but also a complete disconnection from the genuine sensitivity of the people.
Instead of assuming responsibility or creating policies to improve the quality of life, the Cuban elites continue to resort to victimization and to the demonization of foreigners as a tool for internal cohesion.
But the Cuban people no longer buy into that narrative. The connection that Hammer has managed to establish at the grassroots level is uncomfortable not because it is “interfering,” but because it highlights the deep disconnection between the government and its own citizens.
A ground-level diplomacy
The bet on a "domino diplomacy"—as some analysts have begun to call it—recalls the strategy of "ping pong diplomacy" between the United States and China in the 1970s. Through a simple gesture, barriers are broken, and bridges are built where official channels are blocked by distrust or authoritarianism.
The Cuban regime may mock, throw tantrums, or try to discredit these gestures. But the fact is that, while the communist leaders hunker down in sterile speeches, a foreign diplomat sits on a sidewalk playing with the young people of Camagüey. And that, in present-day Cuba, is more subversive than a thousand revolutionary proclamations.
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