The Cuban journalist José Jasán Nieves Cárdenas, director of the independent media outlet El Toque, was the victim of a repudiation act in Mexico, carried out by members of the so-called Mexican Movement of Solidarity with Cuba, a group known for its support of the Havana regime and its involvement in official activities of the Cuban embassy.
During the incident, supporters of the Castro regime raised a sign with the journalist's photo and accused him of "sabotaging the economy of Cuba", "financing terrorism", and "receiving more than 500 thousand dollars" to promote the economic collapse of the country.
The verbal attack took place at a public event, where the aggressors shouted slogans in favor of the regime and directed personal insults at Nieves, who has become one of the most recognized voices in Cuban independent journalism in exile.
Close sources to the journalist confirmed that he is doing well and that the act of repudiation was documented on video by several attendees and uploaded to Facebook by Nieves Cárdenas himself.
The incident has sparked outrage among colleagues, activists, and advocates for press freedom, who have denounced the Cuban regime's attempt to export its harassment practices beyond the island.
"These types of attacks are an extension of the hatred and repression that the Cuban regime exercises within the country, now directed at those who denounce it abroad," commented an independent journalist based in Mexico.
El Toque, a media outlet directed by Nieves, has been a frequent target of attacks and defamation campaigns carried out from accounts linked to State Security and spokespeople of the Communist Party, particularly due to its daily coverage of the informal currency market in Cuba.
The aggression occurs just days after the media publicly responded to the accusations from businessman Sandro Castro, grandson of Fidel Castro, who blamed El Toque for “artificially inflating” the exchange rate of the dollar in Cuba.
In its response, the publication's editorial dismissed those statements as part of a strategy by the regime to discredit independent journalism.
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