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The Cuban influencer Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente (Anna Bensi), a 21-year-old from Havana, has made headlines in the international press following the spread of her videos on TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook, where she discusses the daily hardships in Cuba and advocates for a message of freedom.
The journalist Daniel Lozano interviewed her for El Mundo, in a profile that emphasizes that the young woman “has left fear behind” and that her content has become one of the most critical voices against the regime.
According to the cited interview, Bensi claims to have faced harassment due to her activities: she states that she was pressured to the point of being fired (or leaving) from a job at a beauty salon, that her internet is cut off "at will," and that there is surveillance in her area to intimidate her.
In the same personal account, she describes that they are facing severe difficulties at home: she mentions that her mother and she have come to eat only once a day, that the water situation is "critical," and that power outages average 12 hours in Havana, while in other provinces—she claims—they can last up to 48 hours.
The text also links its growing notoriety to the recent arrest of influencers Kamil Zayas and Ernesto Ricardo Medina, from the independent project El 4tico.
The danger of thinking differently
Bensi explains that her latest video would be a tribute to both of them and asserts that they were imprisoned "for thinking differently." She further states that their detention aims to "inhibit" young people who speak up and that, despite the risks, she is not afraid and will continue to speak "the truth" from her personal experience.
Another interview brought her into the spotlight in a U.S. media outlet: Cuban journalist Yoe Suárez features her in The Washington Stand as “the young evangelical behind a viral message of faith and freedom for Cuba,” a description that frames her emergence to audiences beyond the island.
Bensi, for his part, assures that he has considered emigrating —like “almost two million” Cubans who are said to have left since July 11, according to the text— but he now feels "more free" and expresses his hope to see a political change in 2026.
"I have left fear behind because freedom is a thousand times more important," he states in the cited interview.
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