The Cuban regime launched a media offensive against the independent outlet El Toque, accusing it of being part of an alleged scheme for currency trafficking and tax evasion funded from the United States.
During the latest broadcast of the government program Razones de Cuba, hosted by the regime spokesperson Humberto López, a report was presented that sought to link El Toque with what they described as a "comprehensive economic warfare program" against the island.
According to López, the digital medium uses "American taxpayer funds" to manipulate the informal exchange rate and destabilize the national economy.
The accusation reflects the speech of the Cuban Foreign Minister at the UN, Bruno Rodríguez, who on October 29 stated that there is evidence of an operation organized and financed by Washington to provoke the economic collapse of the country.
In the state television, El Toque was described as a “subversive tool” and “agent of financial terrorism” for publishing daily the informal rates of the Cuban peso against the dollar, the euro, and the MLC, an indicator that millions of Cubans consult in the absence of a transparent official reference.
Without providing verifiable evidence, Razones de Cuba claimed that the publication of the informal rate is a "speculative maneuver" aimed at "depressing the income of the population" and creating "financial panic."
Humberto denied that it was a campaign to discredit the independent media. He reiterated this several times; however, he emphasized at the end of his program: "What concerns El Toque is that we Cubans stop viewing them as a reference, that we no longer look at them as the exchange rate. They worry about losing credibility and that we will organize ourselves with a transformative project to throw them in the trash."
This is an indirect reference to the project that has been announced for weeks by Sandro Castro, influencer and entrepreneur, grandson of the late dictator Fidel Castro, who warned that he would gather private entrepreneurs in Cuba to launch a new exchange rate in the country that should start with a price of 400 CUP per dollar.
The main state media echoed the message from Humberto López. Granma titled "El Toque acts against the well-being of the Cuban people," while Cubadebate published: "El Toque: from economic terrorism to currency trafficking."
These accusations come amid the severe economic crisis the country is facing, characterized by inflation, shortages, and blackouts. Instead of taking responsibility for the internal collapse, the regime seeks to blame the independent press for the ruin caused by over six decades of mismanagement.
Filed under:
