Gerardo Hernández attacks Mario Pentón after the meeting with another of the five spies in Spain

The confrontation between the Cuban government and independent journalism has reignited after the former spy Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, the current national coordinator of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), publicly attacked the Cuban journalist Mario J. Pentón.

The reason was the unexpected meeting that Pentón had with one of the five Cuban spies, Fernando González Llort, at Barajas airport in Madrid.

From his profile on Facebook "Gerardo de Los Cinco", Hernández directly insulted Pentón and praised the alleged bravery of his former colleague from the espionage network.

"My brother Fernando González Llort does not need anyone to defend him, but upon seeing the rudeness of that little character on the right, I wondered: 'How long would the very loudmouth have lasted in the punishment cells where Fernan spent years?'" he said.

"Would he have survived—like him—among the Latin Kings and Salvatruchas, among the Crips and Bloods...? Or would he have spilled the beans on the first day...?" he added. The attack came after Pentón shared a viral video on social media in which he approached González Llort—current president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP)—and asked him: "What are you doing in Spain while the people of Cuba are surviving in misery and blackouts?"

González, who was accompanied by a Cuban diplomat and another woman, did not answer the question and avoided the cameras.

The official called the police, but according to the journalist's account, the officers not only allowed the recording to continue, but also expressed solidarity with the call for freedom in Cuba.

"You thought that by calling the police you would get me in trouble or erase the video. Spain is not Cuba. On the contrary, they showed solidarity with the Cuban people and their desire for freedom," Pentón stated in his post.

In the comments on Gerardo Hernández's post, other exiled journalists also reacted strongly.

José Raúl Gallego emphasized that Pentón lives in a free and democratic country and should not be imprisoned, as he is a law-abiding citizen, unlike the five spies. He reminded Gerardo that, in his particular case, he is an accomplice to murder.

"Decent people like Mario only end up in jail in a dictatorship like Cuba, where the exercise of rights such as freedom of expression is punished. So stop with that cheap bravado; you’re just a common snitch who even turned in the taxi drivers who picked you up at the airport, even while on vacation," he pointed out.

González Llort was convicted in the United States for espionage activities as part of the Wasp Network and was repatriated to Cuba in 2014 as part of a negotiated exchange by the Barack Obama administration. Since then, he has held high-level positions in the political apparatus of the regime and makes frequent international trips.

The video of Pentón was recorded while the journalist was returning to the United States from Spain, where González was participating in official events organized by the Cuban embassy in celebration of the 65th anniversary of solidarity with Cuba. Accompanying him was the Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda.

"In the midst of the crisis and power outages in Cuba, these officials are traveling the world with the money of the Cubans," denounced Pentón on his YouTube channel, where he has received thousands of messages of support.

This new confrontation highlights the ever-deepening divide between the Cuban government and its critics in exile, and underscores the impunity with which regime officials continue to travel abroad, while Cubans on the Island face one of the worst crises in recent decades.

Frequently asked questions about the confrontation between Gerardo Hernández and Mario Pentón