Cossio the liar

Classification: DIRECT LIE — Refuted by documentary evidence regarding verifiable breaches in migration, human trafficking, and human rights.

4. Cuban elections are comparable to those in the United Kingdom

In September 2025, speaking to Mehdi Hasan on Zeteo News, he justified the lack of direct presidential elections by saying: "Just like in the British, Canadian, or Australian governments, people do not directly elect the head of government; instead, they vote for parliamentarians, and it is parliament that designates the leader."

Facts: The comparison overlooks the essential difference: in the United Kingdom, voters choose from multiple parties (Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Greens, etc.) with distinct platforms. In Cuba, there is only one legal party, the Communist Party, and the candidates for the National Assembly are pre-filtered by nomination committees controlled by the State. DemoAmlat has documented that "voting occurs in Cuba, but choices are not made." Journalist Hasan immediately responded, pointing out this significant difference.

Classification: LIE BY FALSE EQUIVALENCE — Equates two radically different systems to create an appearance of democratic legitimacy that does not exist.

Half-truths and manipulations

5. "The blockade is the main (and virtually sole) factor of the Cuban economic crisis."

Context: This is the central and most repeated narrative of Fernández de Cossío. In June 2025, in a Facebook post, he claimed: “The economic blockade is the fundamental obstacle to Cuba's economic development. There is no factor that can compare to its impact.” In February 2026, before CNN, he attributed the energy crisis solely to U.S. sanctions.

Facts: The U.S. embargo has a real and documented impact on the Cuban economy — this is undeniable. However, presenting it as the sole or overwhelmingly dominant cause is a manipulation. Economists like Carmelo Mesa-Lago (in an analysis for the Real Instituto Elcano) identify four causes, the first being internal: the predominance of central planning and state enterprises over the market. A study by Havana Consulting Group reveals that GAESA (a military entity) controls more than 70% of the economy, hindering structural reforms. The economy contracted by 15% over five years, with rampant inflation (up to 470% according to independent estimates), while Cuba rejected following the successful reform models of China and Vietnam.

Classification: HALF-TRUTH / MANIPULATION — The embargo causes real harm, but presenting it as the sole reason serves to evade responsibility for the failure of the economic model and the lack of reforms.

6. "Cuba does not pose any threat to the U.S. It does not harbor terrorism or sponsor terrorism."

Context: Statement repeated multiple times, including an interview with CNN in February 2026: "Cuba poses no threat. It is not aggressive towards the United States. It does not harbor terrorism nor sponsor terrorism."

Facts: This statement has a grain of truth: Cuba does not have the military capacity to directly threaten the U.S., and its inclusion on the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT) is questioned by various organizations, including WOLA. However, the statement selectively omits that Cuba has collaborated with intelligence services from nations that are adversaries of the U.S., has harbored U.S. fugitives for decades, and has a documented history of ties to international drug trafficking (the case of General Arnaldo Ochoa in 1989 is emblematic). A report from the Center for a Free Cuba extensively documents the regime's historical involvement with drug trafficking. Additionally, Cuba provides advisory support to the security apparatus of Venezuela and Nicaragua, regimes accused of severe human rights violations.

Classification: HALF-TRUTH — Cuba does not pose a conventional military threat, but the claim that it "does not harbor terrorism" and does not collaborate with hostile actors overlooks substantial evidence.

"Cuba is ready for a serious and respectful dialogue with the U.S."

In February 2026, during interviews with CNN and Reuters, he stated, "Cuba is ready for serious and meaningful bilateral dialogue." However, in the same round of interviews, he dismissed the discussion of political prisoner releases: "We see no reason, we see no link between one issue and the other."

Facts: The "willingness to engage in dialogue" comes with conditions that exclude key issues for the international community: political prisoners, human rights, civil liberties, and political system reforms. Fernández de Cossío equated the discussion about political prisoners with Cuba discussing "migrant raids in Minneapolis" or "the Constitution of the United States"—a false equivalence between questionable immigration policies and incarceration for political reasons. This "dialogue" is an empty offer that seeks the lifting of sanctions without any corresponding action on fundamental rights

Classification: MANIPULATION — The offer for dialogue is genuine in form but deceptive in substance, as it excludes a priori any discussion on the issues that led to the sanctions.

8. "U.S. humanitarian aid is hypocritical."

In February 2026, Fernández de Cossío described the sending of $6 million in humanitarian aid as "quite hypocritical," writing on X: "to impose draconian coercive measures to deny basic conditions to millions of inhabitants and then announce soup and cans for a few."

Facts: There is a certain logic in pointing out the contradiction between severe sanctions and limited humanitarian aid. However, the manipulation lies in the fact that the Cuban regime systematically rejects or conditions international assistance, does not implement reforms that could alleviate the crisis, and simultaneously criticizes any aid that arrives. Undersecretary of State Jeremy Lewin attributed the shortages to internal mismanagement, not to the embargo. Additionally, the regime does not explain why GAESA, which controls 70% of the Cuban economy, does not allocate its own resources to the humanitarian crisis

Classification: MANIPULATION — Contains a valid element of criticism but uses it to evade all personal responsibility regarding the crisis.

9. "Imperialism seeks to destabilize Cuba" / "Cognitive and media war"

In August 2025, Fernández de Cossío reported: "Imperialism has engaged in an extraordinary effort to destabilize Cuba this summer, to break the peace [...] It is complemented by cognitive and communicational warfare, aimed at depressing the spirit."

Facts: The U.S. has indeed intensified sanctions and diplomatic pressure, which is a verifiable fact. However, this narrative serves to categorize all internal discontent as a product of foreign operations, delegitimizing the genuine protests of Cubans facing power outages of more than 20 hours, shortages of food and medicine, and increasing poverty. Labeling critics as "puppets" is a strategy of dehumanizing legitimate political dissent

Classification: MANIPULATION — It mixes real facts (sanctions) with a conspiratorial narrative that undermines the legitimacy of civic protest.

Discursive pattern

The analysis reveals a coherent and systematic propaganda pattern that Fernández de Cossío skillfully executes with diplomatic finesse

• Absolute denial of the undeniable (political prisoners, repression), following the precedent set by Raúl Castro before Obama in 2016
• Attacking the messenger: when faced with evidence, discredits the source (Amnesty, HRW, media) instead of refuting the facts
• Total outsourcing: every internal crisis is the responsibility of the U.S., never of the economic model or the regime's decisions
• False equivalences: comparing the Cuban system to established democracies or equating the discussion of political prisoners with issues of domestic politics in the U.S.
• Dialogue as a tactical instrument: offering conversations conditioned to exclude everything substantial, projecting an image of openness while maintaining the repressive structure intact

This pattern is not exclusive to Fernández de Cossío; it is the official line of the Cuban MINREX, also echoed by Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Johana Tablada, and Díaz-Canel himself. However, Cossío employs it with particular sophistication when addressing Anglo-Saxon international media, where his calm tone and circular arguments can be more challenging to dismantle in real time — as evidenced when journalist Mehdi Hasan managed to expose him in Zeteo News by insisting on specific names and data.