The jeweler Wilian Díaz has sparked controversy after stating in a video on his social media that Cubans living in Cuba must comply with the prevailing laws on the island to avoid imprisonment.
Díaz, who is very active on social media, made this statement while questioning the halt requested by the influencer Alexander Otaola, who argues that Cubans living in the U.S. should not send anything to the island, believing that it supports the dictatorship.
“Otaola, my friend, is asking for a break…that you don't send anything to your family, that you don't send them a top-up so you don't have to talk to them, that you don't send them food, that you don't send them anything so they feel suffocated and go out to confront the government, when the Bible says that we must submit to the laws,” stated the jeweler in a video posted on TikTok.
“You live here and you must abide by the laws here; you cannot go against the laws. If you live in Cuba, you must obey the laws of Cuba,” he added.
Next, Willian recalled the experience of 11J, which from his perspective was a failure and only brought suffering to hundreds of mothers.
“So they go out to the streets, so that what happened on July 11 happens again, for them to be beaten, for them to be imprisoned, because there are still mothers suffering because their children are in jail. That is what Otaola is asking for,” he pointed out, adding that in his case, he prefers to gather signatures for other causes, such as the legalization of Cubans with I220-A.
"Wilian is asking to see how many signatures we've gathered, if we can legalize the I220-A visas that entered this country with permits and are now facing a lot of difficulties in legalizing themselves," he noted.
In the final segment of his video, Wilian Díaz said that "you don't care who sells the chicken," and that what should matter to you is "that your mom and your family buy the chicken."
In the comment section of his post on TikTok, Díaz received support from many followers who agreed with his recommendation to prioritize family above any other political consideration.
The sentiment was very different on the Instagram account Cubanos por el mundo, which echoed the post with harsh words for the Cuban businessman.
Cubans around the World dismantles the notion that the law, merely by existing, is just or must be obeyed.
Its argument is built around a clear thesis: legality does not guarantee morality, and in authoritarian regimes, it often serves as a vehicle for oppression.
“To say that ‘the laws in Cuba must be respected’ is to repeat the same script used by dictatorships that have employed legality as a facade to justify barbarism.”
This statement is the central axis of the response. The media accuses the jeweler of uncritically reproducing a narrative used by dictatorships throughout various eras to cloak their repressive actions with an appearance of order.
Here, the existence of laws is not questioned per se, but rather their nature and purpose.
Criticism intensifies as the Cuban legal framework is compared to the legal systems from dark moments in human history, such as slavery, Nazi Germany, or South African apartheid
"Today in Cuba, the laws are designed to pursue opponents, imprison the innocent, torture dissidents, and deport those who think differently.", noted Cubans Around the World.
"True justice is not measured by what a code written by a dictator states, but by the respect for human dignity and freedom," concluded the text that in some way served as a response to the most controversial part of Wilian Díaz's reflection.
In the comments section, dozens of internet users lashed out at the jeweler.
The situation escalated further after Eliécer Ávila echoed the claims in his program on YouTube, which triggered a live confrontation with Wilian Díaz.
The jeweler has successively responded to Ávila, Otaola, and even other people who have threatened to boycott his business.
In several videos over the past few days, Wilian has emphasized the importance of supporting families in Cuba, but he has not addressed the most contentious part of his initial video.
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