The Cuban content creator Emmanuel H Castillo published an Instagram reel in which he argues that the regime's most powerful tool has not been repression or censorship, but rather the division among Cubans themselves, and he calls for unity as the only effective path to achieve freedom for the island.
His message comes amid a wave of protests shaking Cuba since March 7, against blackouts, food shortages, inflation, and the lack of freedoms.
"The tool they have used is none other than division," Castillo warns in the video, noting that the regime has historically exploited the fractures between Cubans inside and outside the island.
This argument connects with a historical analysis of the seed of segregation that the Cuban government has cultivated for decades to weaken any organized opposition.
Castillo's argument addresses a crucial point in the sustainability of the Cuban regime: social fragmentation as a mechanism of political control.
For decades, those in power have fostered divisions between those who remain on the island and those who emigrate, between opponents and reformists, and even between generations.
This strategy has made it difficult to form a united front capable of exerting real and sustained pressure. In that context, their message is not new, but it takes on renewed significance at a moment when internal discontent has escalated and protests have spread across various parts of the country.
However, the call for unity faces concrete obstacles. The differences regarding how change should occur —whether through a negotiated transition, total break, or external intervention— continue to create deep divisions both within and outside of Cuba.
This is compounded by the distrust accumulated over years of repression, surveillance, and political manipulation. Achieving a minimum convergence requires not just an appealing discourse, but also the construction of strategic consensuses and credible leadership.
In this regard, the challenge is not only to identify division as a problem but also to turn unity into a practical and realistic tool for change.
The debate over the lack of unity among Cubans has gained particular intensity in recent days, as discussions between the United States and Cuba have come to light, and the end of the dictatorship may be closer than ever.
From abroad, the Cuban community seeks to articulate a coordinated response. In Miami, the exile signed a Liberation Agreement in three phases, while many Cubans in that city have expressed their support for the protests taking place on the island.
However, the division of opinions among exiles regarding the negotiations between the U.S. and Raúl Castro is noteworthy.
There are various opinions among Cubans on what the future of the island should be and the means to overthrow the dictatorship. Castillo insists that unity, in pursuit of achieving a common goal, is the only way to bring down the dictatorship.
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