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The coverage by BBC News Mundo of the protests on Friday in Morón, Ciego de Ávila, sparked a wave of outrage among Cubans both inside and outside the island this Saturday, after the outlet published a headline describing the events as a "looting" of a "state office," without mentioning that the building attacked was the municipal headquarters of the Communist Party of Cuba.
On Saturday, March 14, at 10:18 PM, BBC Mundo published on X the headline: "The unusual images of people looting a state office in Morón, Cuba," accompanied by an image of the burning building. The post garnered over 41,500 views and 265 comments, most of which were critical.
Cubans pointed out two fundamental errors in the headline. First, it was not just any "state office," but the headquarters of the Communist Party of Cuba, the only legal party in the country and the symbol of the power that the protesters identify as responsible for their situation. Second, the protesters were not "looting" but rather protesting and burning symbols of the regime after weeks of power outages of up to 20 hours daily.
"Stealing nothing, setting fire to the PCC," Frank El Makina (@FrankElMakina) responded directly to the media, in a comment that received 327 likes and over 3,000 views. Vanessa (@yo_soy_vanessa_) was more ironic: "Stealing? What are they going to steal at the PCC headquarters? Banners?" Wendy (@WaifuWendy) was more straightforward: "They aren’t stealing anything, and it’s not a state office. It’s the headquarters of the Communist Party in Morón. [Expletive] headline."
One of the most viral comments was from the user @summer_angelll, who quoted the post from BBC Mundo, asking: "Can you imagine risking your life literally to set this p... on fire and the international press says you were 'looting'?" That tweet garnered 7,582 views, 559 likes, and 91 retweets. The user @VlaDiazY identified journalist Jessica Rawnsley as the author of the article and pointed out that "she was not at the scene of the events," adding that "the BBC does not report adequately on Cuba."
Pablo Alfonso (@palfoco) clarified: "The headquarters of the Communist Party of Cuba, to be precise. It is not just any state office." Cosaco Mambí (@CosacoMambi) was more forceful: "'Looting,' that is not information; it's propaganda. You have zero professional ethics." Pepin (@Pepin_cu) accused the media of "misrepresenting and providing biased news to conceal the discontent of the Cuban people with the communist dictatorship." Multiple users requested that a community note be added to the tweet to correct the information.
The contrast with other media was striking. The New York Post headlined the same story as "Cubans chant 'Down with Communism' and attack government building during violent night of protests," a radically different approach that was celebrated by the Cuban exiled community and garnered 124,000 views, 5,100 likes, and 1,100 retweets.
The protests in Morón began peacefully on Thursday night, with banging pots and pans and chants of "Freedom!" and "Homeland and Life," in response to power outages, food shortages, fuel, and medicine. The protesters attacked the municipal headquarters of the PCC, threw stones, burned furniture and Castro symbols in the street, and also caused damage to a pharmacy and a state store. The MININT reported five arrests and one injury. Díaz-Canel described the events as "vandalism and violence" and warned that "there will be no impunity," although he acknowledged that the complaints about power outages were "legitimate."
Lalulú (@LuluQuba) summed up the feelings of many: "These people are risking their lives, they understand, THEIR LIVES, and they are not looting anything. The first thing they did was take out the flag to wave it outside so it wouldn't burn. This is not a state office; it is the PCC office, the cancer of Cuba."
Editor's note: The BBC publication has been subsequently modified to add context to the original post.
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