Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, the former spy turned apostle of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), once again made it clear that in Cuba, solidarity only holds value when it comes with a revolutionary stamp… and without "likes" from satellites and Pharisees.
Yes, he said it himself. On his account, he wrote with that mix of cynicism and moral superiority that defines him: “It's nighttime, and in an orderly manner, coordinated with the #CDRCuba, without drama, without making anyone cry for 'likes', in affected communities of the Sierra Maestra, the caravan of Mipymes ‘El Almirante’ and ‘Productos Lácteos CID’ from Artemisa is distributing humanitarian aid.”
In other words, while thousands of Cubans and members of the diaspora organize aid campaigns, publish links, photos, or videos to highlight the tragedy and raise real funds, Hernández Nordelo —the same one who turned the delivery of a couple of boxes of imported mango juice into a political event in June 2023, during the floods in the East— now chooses to lecture on humility and "keeping a low profile."
The former spy, who learned the liturgy of double talk well in prison and in the halls of the Party – and who preaches his knowledge of the "monster's entrails" to elevate the notion that the "monster" knows his own entrails – now seeks to teach ethics to those who help, while he appropriates the work of others and politically capitalizes on it under the hashtag #WeAreAllCederistas.
Because, of course, in Cuba, solidarity only matters if it passes through the regime's filter.
The televised modesty
The irony reaches the level of tragicomedy when just hours after that grandiose post, the National Television News (NTV) dedicated a prime-time report to the same Mipymes that Hernández Nordelo praised as an example of “solidarity without drama”: El Almirante and Productos Lácteos CID.
The video shows trucks loaded with tons of aid, close-up cameras, the hustle and bustle of uniformed personnel, and, of course, the ubiquitous CDR coordinating "in an orderly manner."
The message is clear: televised, institutional charity, that is indeed applauded; the kind that arises from civil society, that is censored or ridiculed.
Hernández Nordelo does not mention, of course, that the “new players in the economy” and their successful businesses operate thanks to licenses granted by the government of the “continuity” of Miguel Díaz-Canel, controlled by the military-business apparatus of GAESA and, in many cases, managed by front men of leaders or relatives of officials.
In other words, the vast majority of them are tangible evidence that the Cuban regime is focused and concentrated on building a state capitalism dressed in olive green guayabera.
Thus, while the State does not provide a single sheet to the affected individuals, the very privileged businessmen who enrich themselves in dollars appear as saviors on national television. And leading the chorus is Hernández Nordelo: that new “synergy manager” between the weary revolution and the energetic obedient entrepreneurs.
The cederist gospel according to Saint Gerardo of the Mipyme
It is not the first time that the former spy has tried to create an epic out of misery. In June 2023, he celebrated with great pomp the donation from a Mipyme that sent some boxes of imported mango juice to the victims in the eastern part of the country.
A minor detail: in Cuba, mango crops rot due to the state-owned Acopio company, while farmers watch from the furrow as their harvests disintegrate in bureaucracy.
But that did not prevent Hernández Nordelo from turning the anecdote into a collective epic. In his universe, solidarity must be managed by the state, blessed by the CDR, and disseminated by Cubadebate, not organized by ordinary Cubans, churches, or emigrants.
For him, charity without a photo is virtue, while charity with a photo—when he is not the one in the spotlight—is just "seeking likes."
The problem, of course, is that Gerardo does not understand the wide and diverse world of solidarity, but rather of control. Every initiative he promotes follows a political logic: to reabsorb the new economic fabric into the revolutionary narrative.
This way, it turns Mipymes into symbolic extensions of the State, and the CDR into public relations agencies that sell "community spirit" while watching, controlling, and subordinating.
The solidarity of fear
At its core, what Hernández Nordelo celebrates is not generosity, but obedience. Private companies that "join in" do so because they know they must if they want to continue existing.
In a country where every business license depends on political loyalty, charity becomes an act of survival. And the CDR, that dinosaur that reeks of ideological mold, is recycled as a propaganda platform for the "new socialist economy."
The result is grotesque: a regime that destroyed private initiative for six decades now boasts about its patriotic entrepreneurs; a former spy preaching austerity on social media while appearing at events with lights, cameras, and hashtags; a regime that calls what is, in fact, a public relations campaign to conceal the collapse of the state "solidarity."
If you don't like the missal..
Hernández Nordelo embodies the paradox of a country where misery is managed as a spectacle. Applauds what he can control, despises what he cannot control.
Preaches humility with the news broadcast behind, moralizes while posing for the camera, and turns every act of solidarity into a campaign for failure.
In the Cuba of San Gerardo de la Mipyme, solidarity has an owner, entrepreneurs have a party, and charity has its own liturgy. And if you don't like the missal, don't worry: the CDR will sweeten it for you.
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