The journalist José Jasán Nieves, director of the platform El Toque, reported this Thursday that the Cuban regime is attempting to manufacture a criminal case against members and collaborators of his team, in a new escalation of harassment against the independent media.
The complaint was posted on his Facebook account, where Nieves stated that the media offensive launched on Wednesday on state television aims to justify a criminal investigation that the media itself had warned about since September 2024.
“On that occasion, collaborators and individuals without direct ties to Mas Voces Foundation were subjected to psychological torture sessions lasting over eight hours at Villa Marista in order to 'testify' in an alleged criminal case against El Toque,” he explained.
A year later —according to the statement— those declarations were manipulated and presented on national television, a recurring tactic of the regime to discredit journalists and opponents.
Nieves stated that the official attack aims to link him to currency trafficking and tax evasion charges, based on funds originating from programs of the United States Embassy in Havana.
The official spokesperson Humberto López also described the actions of the outlet as “economic terrorism”, a term that does not exist in Cuban legislation, and suggested adding Nieves and his team to an alleged “National Terrorist List,” according to article 143 of the Penal Code.
In her publication, Nieves clarified that both Mediaplus.Experience INC. and the nonprofit organization Mas Voces Foundation INC. are legally registered as providers for the United States federal government, and that the contracts they receive are public and transparent.
"We work with the Embassy of the United States to support social and cultural projects, never subversive ones," he noted.
The director of El Toque also reported that during the television broadcast personal information and his home address were revealed, which he described as a practice of doxing and media harassment.
He also rejected the manipulation regarding the purchase of his home, describing it as "a common mortgage transaction in any country, except in an economy like the Cuban one, devastated by the dictatorship of the past 65 years."
Nieves warned that the campaign against El Toque aims to divert attention from the regime's failure in its economic policy and the collapse of the exchange system.
"It is the only way the Cuban government has to respond to citizen demands for its inability to manage the crisis it has created," he wrote.
He closed his message reaffirming the media's mission: “We will continue to share journalism and information services. Let them rage louder, they will not silence us.”
A few days ago, Nieves was the victim of a rejection act in Mexico, featuring 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.
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