The Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel publicly congratulated the Russian state channel RT (Russia Today) on its twentieth anniversary, in a video recorded and shared on his social media.
Amid rehearsed gestures and a sip from a cup featuring the media's logo, the also First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) stated that he “likes RT because it tells truths that others hide” and because “it respects Cuba”.
The message, carefully crafted, fits into the communicative alliance between the regimes of Havana and Moscow: a propaganda network that feeds back into itself to legitimize authoritarian regimes and misinform the world.
Founded in 2005 and directly financed by the Kremlin, RT has become one of Russia's key media tools for global influence. Following an agreement reached in 2018, shortly before Díaz-Canel took office, RT began broadcasting in Cuba in March 2020.
Its stated mission —to provide an "alternative" perspective to Western media— contrasts with the findings of multiple international reports that accuse it of manipulating information, spreading conspiracy theories, and operating in the interests of Vladimir Putin.
After the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Union imposed sanctions and banned the broadcasting of RT for being deemed a “direct threat to security and public order”, while the United States and other Western democracies included it in lists of entities linked to Russian state disinformation.
Organizations like Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Human Rights Watch have described it as a "propaganda machine" aimed at undermining trust in free media and promoting narratives favorable to the Kremlin.
Despite this history, Díaz-Canel not only congratulated the outlet but also described it as "honest" and "brave" for "speaking uncomfortable truths to the great powers of the world." This statement sounds ironic coming from a leader who heads one of the countries with the least press freedom on the planet.
According to RSF, Cuba ranks 165th out of 180 in the World Press Freedom Index 2025, with a media ecosystem entirely controlled by the Communist Party. Independent media are blocked within the country, their journalists are harassed, detained, or forced into exile, and citizens do not have free access to diverse information.
The laws regarding communication, reinforced by Decree-Law 35, impose penalties for the dissemination of content deemed “contrary to the interests of the State,” even on social media.
On its part, Russia ranks 171st out of 180 in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index by RSF, reflecting a system where censorship, repression, and state propaganda replace free journalism.
Under Kremlin control, nearly all independent media outlets have been shut down or labeled as "foreign agents," and critical journalists face persecution, exile, or imprisonment for disseminating information deemed "false" about the military or the government.
Just as RT acts as a spokesperson for Putin abroad, the Cuban press system functions as a mouthpiece for the political power, where there is no room for criticism or investigative journalism. Both regimes use the discourse of “informational sovereignty” to justify censorship and attack free media, accusing them of being “instruments of imperialism”.
The affinity between Havana and Moscow is not only ideological or economic but also communicational: both share the belief that controlling the narrative is equivalent to controlling reality.
In Cuba, RT in Spanish is broadcast 24 hours a day on state television, a privilege that no independent Cuban media has ever had. While free journalists must navigate blockages, threats, and digital blackouts, the Kremlin's propaganda machine enjoys total visibility on the island.
The praise of Díaz-Canel for RT is, ultimately, a political confession: the acknowledgment that his communication model is the same as Putin's. A compliant press, unchecked, dedicated to creating external enemies and hiding internal crises.
In times when access to the truth has become an act of resistance, the words of the Cuban leader reveal something beyond admiration for a foreign channel. They reflect the obsession of the totalitarian power to control the narrative, even if it means shamelessly taking refuge in Russian propaganda.
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