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The cynicism of the former Cuban spy Gerardo Hernández, coordinator of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), was laid bare when, unable—or silenced—to speak about the growing poverty in Cuba, he posted a photo of a homeless person in New York and suggested that Marco Rubio do exactly what he is not allowed to do: look inward and acknowledge the problems of his own country.
In a post on Facebook, Hernández wrote: “A country that nobody blocks. Marco Rubio and his associates should be more concerned about the reality of their own country, instead of sticking their noses into others...”, alongside an image taken in Manhattan.
The reaction was immediate. More than a thousand comments from Cubans inside and outside the island responded harshly, accusing him of cynicism and hypocrisy for using others' poverty as an excuse to justify the economic disaster in Cuba.
"And he has more things than any Cuban on the island," journalist Iliana Hernández remarked sarcastically, while Irina Diéguez Toledo shot back, "Throwing stones at unripe mangos, Gerardo."
Aristides Fernández was more blunt: “How is it that so many immigrants thrive in the United States, including Marco Rubio, while you defend a system that has sunk Cuba? In the U.S., anyone who wants to succeed can do so.”
"What cynicism from this man," wrote Roberto Carlos Frómeta, and Yoel Cruz described him as "the most unpleasant guy in Cuba."
The most powerful message came from Dr. Alexander Jesús Figueredo Izaguirre, who reminded us: “In Cuba, there are no homeless people; there is an entire country surviving. In the United States, poverty is an individual tragedy; in Cuba, it is a government project.”
Figueredo concluded his response with a personal attack: “And you, Gerardo of the Five, worry about finding out who the real father of your daughter is before you go back to prison. You are the greatest shame of the word man.”
Other users continued the flood of criticism: Janny Chiong wrote, “Right now that homeless person lives better than any doctor in Cuba,” while Maria Isabel Sánchez recalled that in the U.S., “nobody puts you in jail for speaking out or fires you for telling the truth.”
"I prefer to live in the U.S. under those conditions than in Cuba with all the luxuries; freedom is priceless," stated Yury Rivera.
In the same vein, Wendy Llanes San Martín responded: “Worry about the misery that you have created in Cuba yourselves and stop meddling in what does not concern you.”
The exchange ultimately revealed the deep dissatisfaction of a citizenry that no longer fears publicly questioning the regime's spokespersons, weary of the manipulation and the political use of others' poverty to conceal the economic and moral failure of the Cuban system.
But the ex-spy's "selective" blindness activates from time to time. Recently, he once again provoked the outrage of Cubans by comparing poverty in the United States with the misery experienced by the population on the island.
His phrase —“The haters paint Yuma as the earthly paradise”— sparked a flood of responses that reveal a reality very different from the official version.
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