After a clip went viral featuring Miguel Díaz-Canel visibly annoyed responding to a victim in the town of El Cobre, in Santiago de Cuba, with the phrase “I don’t have any to give you right now either,” the official program Chapeando Bajito came to the leader's defense and accused social media of manipulating his words.
The video, widely shared on digital platforms and on the program of influencer Alex Otaola, showed the leader in a tense exchange with a woman who confronted him about losing her bed after Hurricane Melissa. "We don't have a bed," said the neighbor. "And I don't have one to give you right now either," responded the official, visibly upset.
The images sparked a wave of criticism both on and off the island, where many Cubans interpreted the response as a gesture of arrogance and a lack of empathy towards the desperation of those affected.
However, this Sunday the official space Chapeando Bajito, usually in podcast format hosted by journalist Arleen Rodríguez Derivet and broadcast on Facebook and the portal Cubadebate, attempted to "clarify" what happened and accuse independent media of distorting the context.
"In recent hours, a conveniently edited video has been circulating on social media, featuring President Díaz-Canel's response to a woman from Granma who expressed having lost her bed and mattress after Hurricane Melissa," the program stated, labeling the piece as part of an "anti-Cuban propaganda aimed at character assassination" of the president.
According to Chapeando Bajito, the released excerpt "omits elements of a much broader response," where the leader allegedly explained the steps of the recovery process and the arrival of donations. The program published the supposed full transcript of the exchange, in which Díaz-Canel insisted that "he had no bed to provide right now," but promised future assistance through brigades and state resources.
The official space also stated that the controversy is part of a "media operation" against the Government, just as it attempts to demonstrate "efficient" management in the face of Hurricane Melissa, "with not a single loss of life to lament."
The defense, however, reflects the propaganda apparatus's concern to control the narrative surrounding the presidential figure at a time of increasing social discontent and economic exhaustion.
In the meantime, images of the exchange continue to circulate on social media, accompanied by testimonies from residents who report a lack of assistance and the deterioration of conditions in El Cobre, a historic symbol of faith and resilience.
The official reaction once again confirms that the Cuban government prefers to attack the messenger rather than acknowledge the insensitivity of its own responses, even amidst the devastation faced by thousands of families in the East after the cyclone's passage.
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