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The official Cuban spokesperson Pedro Jorge Velázquez, known on social media as El Necio, publicly admitted that the government of Havana concealed information regarding contacts with the U.S., a statement that has sparked extensive debate on social media about the informational transparency of the Cuban authorities.
Velázquez, a blogger and communicator closely affiliated with the government, who has defended the Cuban regime on digital platforms and media aligned with it for years, published an extensive text on Facebook to justify the recent revelations about conversations between the two countries.
In his text, El Necio acknowledged that the government handled information with opacity, something that -as he himself admitted- affects public trust.
“Beyond the fact that Cuba was hiding the ball for some reason, which –as I have said– does not favor public trust and, in addition, several voices -politicians and journalists- were silenced claiming there was no dialogue at all, the Cuban government did know the details, while Miami did not,” he wrote.
He also acknowledged that for days various figures in the Cuban media and political apparatus publicly denied the existence of contacts with Washington, while reports from the United States suggested otherwise.
In his post, the influencer tried to justify that contradiction by stating that the discussions were taking place at the governmental level and did not include figures from the Cuban exile community in Miami.
“The exchange table is not with the mercenary and unpatriotic mob of the extremist ‘exile’ in Miami… Those people are out of the discussion table,” he stated.
In the same message, he directly mentioned several Cuban-American congressmen and media figures from the exile community, asserting that they have no real influence in the negotiations.
“Neither María Elvira, nor Mario Díaz-Balart, nor Carlos Giménez, nor Otaola, nor Eliécer, nor Mario J. Pentón, nor other associated satellites”, he wrote.
El Necio also tried to explain the apparent contradiction between the statements of Cuban-American politicians who denied any contacts and President Donald Trump's claims about the existence of dialogue.
"And people are asking: how are Cuban-American congress members denying the contact while Trump is confirming it?" he questioned.
According to their interpretation, Cuban-American congress members would have been sidelined from any rapprochement between Washington and Havana because they "don't matter and have no influence" in U.S. policy towards Cuba.
“Those people are the ones who run errands, the ones who bring the coffee; they have no respect or support from Trump or Congress,” he stated.
"From Miami, they said that the Cuban government was not at the table; but in reality, it was they who were not at the table," he concluded.
A prior claim that also generated controversy
The controversy did not start with that publication.
The day before, El Necio defended himself on Facebook after receiving criticism from other pro-government communicators for asking the government for explanations regarding the rumors of contacts with Washington.
In that message, he stated that he had been attacked for publicly questioning the lack of official information on the subject.
“So then? Was it necessary to call me ‘traitor,’ ‘fool,’ ‘egotist,’ or ‘confused’ for being the only one who asked the government for clarifications about the contacts with the U.S., something that was indeed happening?”, he wrote.
The influencer also stated that some television hosts and colleagues joined in criticizing him for raising questions about the official version.
“They launched a little campaign: television program hosts and 'colleagues' joined forces to attack me and dismiss my request. But El Necio wasn’t so wrong,” he stated.
"They patted their chests to proclaim that it had already been denied and there was nothing to clarify. But El Necio wasn't so wrong," he added.
The official blogger claims that he even received private messages asking him to delete his post or to hold off before insisting on the topic.
The influencer concluded that message by defending his role as a communicator and stating that journalism must operate with transparency.
“The communicational battle is fought with the truth, and journalism under these circumstances does not tolerate half-measures because people lose trust in our word,” he wrote.
"Don't underestimate my work, my professionalism, and my responsibility any longer. Those who attacked me should at least remove their dirty posts today," he said regarding the official confirmation of conversations announced by Díaz-Canel this Friday.
Debate on social media about transparency and credibility
The publications from El Necio have sparked intense discussion among Facebook users, where the acknowledgment that the government was "hiding the ball" was one of the most discussed points.
Several internet users questioned the credibility of the authorities after official figures denied the existence of contacts for several days.
“The key is that you cannot lie. Why does the government lie to the people? Why does it manipulate and deceive them? That is unacceptable,” wrote a user.
Another commentator noted that publicly denying the conversations only to later confirm them weakens trust in institutions.
"Refusing to engage in conversations with the United States government undermines our government's credibility and sets a very poor precedent," he commented.
Some recalled that official media and government spokespersons had repeatedly denied the reports about contacts with Washington.
“The president himself, the chancellor, and several journalists stated that there was no deal of any kind, and now it turns out that there were indeed conversations,” pointed out another internet user.
Other comments were even harsher, accusing the government of deliberately lying.
"It was a huge mistake not to have informed the people about what was happening. There was indiscriminate lying, claiming that there were no conversations," wrote another participant in the debate.
Defenses of secrecy
However, several users defended the discretion of the Cuban government and argued that diplomatic negotiations are often conducted with confidentiality.
"There are things that must remain hidden in order to be achieved," wrote a commentator, quoting a phrase attributed to José Martí that is often used in official discourse to justify the reserved handling of certain issues.
Another internet user stated that "diplomatic matters are not announced until there are tangible results."
In the same vein, some followers of the influencer felt that disclosing contacts prematurely could hinder negotiations.
"Prudence, intelligence, and discretion are essential for any dialogue or negotiation between governments," noted another user.
The post also sparked criticism directed specifically at El Necio.
Some commentators believed that his explanation attempted to justify an obvious contradiction between the government's previous statements and what was later admitted.
"What's at stake here is once again the national deception," affirmed an internet user.
Others questioned the term used by the influencer to refer to the management of information.
A supporter who identified as sympathetic to the government criticized him for saying that "hiding the ball" was inappropriate.
“‘Hiding the ball’ is not the appropriate term to refer to Cuban diplomacy,” he remarked.
Some users even pointed out that the official spokespersons found themselves in an awkward position following the confirmation of the contacts.
"Several journalists and officials who denied what later turned out to be acknowledged found themselves in a difficult position," remarked another participant.
Although the aim of Cárdenas's message seemed to be to defend the Cuban government and discredit figures from the exile community, his admission that Havana "was hiding the ball" ended up fueling the debate about information transparency on the island.
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