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Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla once again criticized the United States on social media, this time regarding the detention of a five-year-old migrant child by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"There are no excuses to stop a child, instill fear in them, threaten them, and try to forcibly separate them from their parents," the official wrote on his account on X, where he accused Washington of acting with "total impunity" and using the issue of human rights as a "false pretext" to attack other countries.
The message, accompanied by an image of the minor wearing a blue hat and carrying a school backpack being escorted by federal agents, sparked a wave of reactions. While pro-government accounts supported the chancellor's rhetoric and framed it within the context of denouncing the "blockade" and American policy, most comments were openly critical and questioned the moral authority of the Cuban government to speak on children's rights.
“Coming from you, it sounds like political opportunism,” a user reproached. Others recalled Cuban children separated from their parents due to forced migration, minors with relatives imprisoned for political reasons, or those who grew up amidst extreme shortages of food and medicine.
"There are no excuses for keeping Cuban children without freedom or a future," wrote an internet user, while several others recalled cases like that of Lisandra Góngora, the detentions of teenagers following protests on the Island, or historical tragedies that the chancellor omits.
The tone of the responses was harsh, filled with indignation and remembrance. For many Cubans inside and outside the Island, Rodríguez's tweet was not a sincere defense of children's rights, but rather an attempt to politically capitalize on a painful story that happened outside of Cuba, while similar, or worse, violations are ignored within the country.
But on Facebook, the tone was even harsher. While some defended the complaint against the United States and spoke of “imperialism” and “fascism,” a majority responded by holding a mirror up to the chancellor.
Several users criticized him for discussing human rights while children in Cuba are starving, unable to sleep due to power outages, or growing up ill during the health crisis. Others recalled practices such as forced labor in the fields, the withdrawal of milk at a young age, police repression against minors, and the existence of parents imprisoned far from their children. There were also those who mentioned internal deportations within the Island, from Havana to the east, the lack of free elections, and the contradiction of denouncing external abuses without acknowledging one's own.
The case referred to by the chancellor is that of Liam Conejo Ramos, a five-year-old boy who was detained this week by ICE agents while returning home from preschool in a suburb of Minneapolis.
The minor was taken with his father to a family detention center in Texas, more than 2,000 kilometers from their home, according to a report by CNN.
According to their lawyer, the family legally entered the United States to apply for asylum and met the requirements of the process; however, U.S. authorities regard the father as an undocumented immigrant and defended the operation.
While the United States government insists it acted in accordance with the law, local organizations, school officials, and witnesses question the circumstances surrounding the arrest and the emotional impact on the child.
In the midst of the international debate, the image of Liam, with his bunny hat and Spiderman backpack, became trapped between opposing political speeches, reminding us that beyond flags and slogans, there are childhoods shaped by decisions they do not understand or choose.
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