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The publication of the first article from the dossier on 1,028 Cubans recruited by the Russian army to participate in the invasion of Ukraine sparked a heated debate on social media, especially on CiberCuba's Facebook page.
The reaction was immediate, but more than demonstrating a massive repudiation, it revealed a concerning phenomenon: the active, aggressive, and misguided defense of the presence of Cuban mercenaries in a foreign conflict, largely driven by users aligned with the regime —the known "clarias."
These accounts, many of which exhibit characteristics of fake profiles or were created for propaganda purposes, reiterated official narratives, downplayed the seriousness of the issue, relativized the illegality of mercenarism, and resorted to arguments that border on moral barbarism: "nobody forced them", "everyone goes to war for money", "better that than dying of hunger in Cuba".
The result was a digital cesspool of comments where ignorance, cynicism, and blind obedience to power intertwined in a crude and cruel defense of sending young Cubans—some under 20 years old—to kill and die for an imperialist war.
Those who dared to question were insulted, labeled as "worms," "traitors," or "frustrated Yankees," echoing the old repressive manual of Castroism, this time in version 2.0.
Digital denialism: When the slogan suffocates the evidence
A recurring pattern among the regime's defenders was the accusation that "everything is a lie."
Despite the fact that the original article from CiberCuba cites multiple verifiable sources — such as the Ukrainian project "I Want to Live", international press outlets, video testimonies, hacked official Russian documents, and cross-references with the leaked Excel spreadsheet — a noisy segment of commentators dismissed it simply as fake news.
What drives a person to systematically deny the obvious, even when the facts are documented and connected to verifiable data? This phenomenon is not new in the Cuban digital ecosystem: it is a reflection of the ideological training induced by the regime for decades.
The supporters who shout "lie" in response to every revelation are not seeking the truth. They don’t cross-check sources, they don’t read carefully, they don’t conduct their own investigations. Their reaction is automatic, almost Pavlovian: any information that contradicts the state’s narrative must be false by definition. It is an emotional defense, not a rational one.
This denialism serves the regime's interests. By instilling systematic doubt and automatically discrediting anything that does not emanate from the official apparatus, it safeguards the comfort zone of fanaticism and prevents the exercise of critical thinking.
Many of those who deny the content of the article are unable to explain why they do so, beyond empty phrases: "That's propaganda", "That was invented by the gusanos", "There is no evidence"... even when faced with it.
The most paradoxical thing is that many of these users demand "proof" while systematically denying all the evidence presented to them. They ignore press reports, dismiss the testimonies of the Cubans themselves who were recruited, deny videos showcasing uniforms and names, and even reject open access to documents, without taking five minutes to verify them. This is not healthy skepticism: it is uninformed fanaticism.
When defending the indefensible is part of the script
The participation of these "clarias" is neither spontaneous nor harmless. In the Cuban digital ecosystem, these profiles function as squads for ideological containment: they distort debates, misinform the unsuspecting reader, and above all, normalize the abnormal.
In this case, its narrative tries to justify the unjustifiable: that young Cubans are sent to a foreign war, hired under deception or extreme necessity, and placed at the service of an invading power.
This is a flagrant violation of ethical, legal principles, and even of the values supposedly upheld by the so-called "Cuban Revolution," such as anti-imperialism and the self-determination of peoples.
But the rhetoric of the clarias does not allow for contradictions. For them, if the government permits it, it's acceptable. If the dead are poor and anonymous, they do not matter. If payment is in rubles, everything is justified. Their loyalty is to the narrative, not to the truth. And their mission is not to debate, but to crush any critical thought that may threaten the regime.
A mirror of moral emptiness
The defense of Cuban mercenarism reveals something deeper: the collapse of civic and moral education in a society devastated by decades of propaganda, repression, and scarcity.
In many of the comments, even those that are not institutionalized “clarias,” a distorted view of the world is evident, where violence is justified by poverty, obedience is seen as a virtue, and dignity is auctioned off to the highest bidder.
That desperate pragmatism is not accidental. It is the product of a system that has destroyed the ability to dream and has replaced ideals with the instinct for survival. A system that has punished honesty and rewarded submission. A system that has made misery a state policy.
Ethical implications: What does this say about us?
Justifying mercenarism with hunger is a civilizational defeat. Cuba, as a nation, cannot afford to continue justifying that its youth fight —and die— in foreign wars because they “have no other option.” This is the essence of a failed state.
The Cuban regime, with its complicit silence, is not only selling human lives but also corrupting the last values that could still save it from total decay. And those who applaud this moral degradation, from the comfort of a state connection or the anonymity of a fake profile, are functional pieces of that same corrupt machine.
The defense of mercenaries is not just a symptom of ignorance or manipulation: it is a form of dehumanization. Because when we accept that others kill or die for us, in exchange for a contract signed in a language they do not understand, we cease to be citizens and become accomplices.
Between fear, misinformation, and cynicism
The debate on social media has shown that we are not just facing a geopolitical issue, but a deep crisis of values.
The catfish, with their insults and ramblings, are not the problem in themselves: they are a reflection of a society where dictatorial and totalitarian power, which disregards the individual and dismisses human rights, has metastasized even in the conscience.
And if this list of 1,028 Cuban mercenaries in Ukraine teaches us anything, it is that the great battle for Cuba's freedom will not be solely political or economic. It will also be – and above all – a moral battle.
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