Teresa Padrón came to the defense of Samantha Hernández following the massive attacks on social media that she received for refusing to publicly discuss the political situation in Cuba. The controversy has divided the Cuban community in exile and sparked intense debate about the boundaries of responsibility for content creators.
In a video posted on his Instagram, Padrón directly addressed those pressuring Hernández to speak out: "You are all communists. Because if you don’t realize it, you yourselves are communists. Because you want someone who came out and was honest and said, I have no knowledge of absolutely anything political, to come out and talk about politics."
Padrón argued that requiring someone to speak on a topic they do not master is precisely the type of imposition that characterizes the Cuban regime. "You yourselves who criticize the same communists, of course, because they are all a bunch of useless people. You are also on the same page wanting to live the same types of things that happen in Cuba, wanting to experience them here,” he stated.
The controversy erupted on Wednesday when Hernández posted a viral video in which she explained that she doesn't talk about politics because "I don't know, I don't have information, I know the basics," and described the debate about Cuba on social media as a "business" or "circus." "The world already knows what is happening in Cuba. Not even 50 thousand influencers can change that," she said.
The statements sparked a wave of criticism from Cubans in exile, who accused her of indifference and complicity with the regime, also pointing out that she promotes shipping agencies to Cuba that are linked to the government without denouncing the repression.
Under pressure, Hernández acknowledged the reality of the island: "Of course I know that there is a dictatorship in Cuba, of course I know that people are starving, that there are blackouts, that there is no electricity, no water, no medicine; that if you speak out, you end up in prison. We are emigrating for all of this because we have no future on the island." She justified her silence due to the risk of being taken out of context and maliciously viralized.
Padrón also denounced that most of the attacks came from men who questioned Hernández's personal life. "I don't find it acceptable at all for men to come out, because the majority have been men, to insult her as a woman, to say that she has been with so-and-so or that other guy. Why does it matter to you?" he pointed out. Additionally, he noted that many of the critics use the same shipping agencies that they reproach Hernández for, and that several of them don't even publish content asking for freedom for Cuba.
The influencer Kenny Robert also supported Hernández on the same day, arguing that "it is better to remain silent than to speak without knowledge" and calling for unity: "Defending Cuba also means defending respect among ourselves as Cubans."
The controversy arises at a time when the contrast with those who do speak from inside the island is particularly painful. The young Anna Bensi, 21 years old, reports on the repression from Havana, and this month, the State Security summoned her mother, Caridad Silvente, accused her of being "counter-revolutionary," and placed her under house arrest. Bensi denounced that the interrogation aimed to "intimidate her, pressure her, and destabilize her."
Padrón concluded his message with a call to redirect energy: "Make videos about Cuba so that they give freedom to Cuba, so that Trump does his job and comes to liberate Cuba, which is what we are all waiting for."
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