A Cuban living in Belgium starred in a video in which she denounces the "genocidal and murderous blockade" by the United States against the island, while dozens of social media users criticized her for not speaking equally about the oppression of the Cuban regime over its people, and for expressing her opinion comfortably from Europe.
In the recording shared on Facebook by the Embassy of Cuba in Belgium and before the European Union, the woman, identified as Dafnis Prim Disotuar, appears on camera with a brief message directed against U.S. policy towards the Caribbean nation.
"We are here denouncing once again that we are not Gaza, denouncing the genocidal and deadly blockade that the government of the United States has imposed on our beautiful Cuba for 67 years. Down with the blockade, hands off Cuba. Trump, Cuba is not Gaza," asserts Prim Disotuar in the clip that lasts only 35 seconds. The dozens of criticisms did not take long to emerge.
Several users questioned why the message was issued from abroad and not from the country itself. "If you lived in Cuba like an average citizen relying on a salary of 4,000 CUP, you wouldn't say that," wrote a user identified as John Walker.
Other comments denied the existence of a "blockade" as presented in the video and attributed the country's crisis to the management of the Cuban political system. "What blockade? Cuba negotiates with nearly 100 countries, including the U.S.," stated Juan Manuel Torres García, who further argued that it is the Cuban regime that is genocidal: "just look at how that suffering people are."
Many interventions highlighted the severe economic and social situation that the island has been facing for years, which has intensified in recent months. “Report the hunger and misery that your people are experiencing,” recommended Víctor Álvarez in response to the content of the audiovisual.
However, some users supported the message shared by the embassy and expressed their backing for the complaint against the U.S. sanctions. There were those who described the woman as "dignified and brave Cuban," while others simply reiterated slogans such as "down with the blockade."
The controversy arises at a time of intense debate about the dire situation on the island, when President Miguel Díaz-Canel once again blamed the United States for the worsening energy crisis and stated that the blackouts affecting the country are precisely due to the "blockade," and are not the responsibility of the revolution or the government.
Public figures like actor Jorge Perugorría have similarly faced significant backlash for their denunciation of the U.S. blockade while failing to mention even in passing the responsibility of the Cuban regime in the Island's debacle.
From Washington, a military intervention in the country has been ruled out for now, and it is known that there are negotiations -finally acknowledged by the Cuban regime- to find solutions to the crisis.
Provinces with over 30 hours of blackouts, transportation and other services nearly paralyzed, an obsolete and deteriorated electric power system, and a population that can no longer endure calls for "creative resistance" and other slogans from the political bureaucracy make the current situation in Cuba extremely complex.
The regime responds to every protest or display of dissent with increased repression. Independent organizations have documented hundreds of political prisoners, a reality that cannot be concealed with the slogan “end the blockade.”
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