A Spanish woman, the daughter of Cuban parents, known on Instagram as @hellentablada, posted a video denouncing the situation in Cuba, in which she fiercely and painfully lashes out at the participants of the Convoy Nuestra América who recently were in Havana.
The video amassed over 37,000 views, 3,700 likes, and 733 comments in less than 24 hours. The author, who returned from the island about a week ago, directed her indignation towards nearly 500 activists from 30 countries who arrived aboard the convoy organized by CODEPINK, Progressive International, and The People's Forum, featuring figures such as Pablo Iglesias and streamer Hasan Piker.
"I get the feeling they see it as a spectacle. They are on buses filled with fuel, taking photos as if this were an ideological safari," he states in the video. He also reports that a member of the same flotilla had children in Cuba dance in exchange for food: "With a little cookie like that, making the children dance for food. It’s outrageous."
Elena Tablada opens the video with a confession that sums up the weight of her experiences: "I returned to Cuba, and you have no idea how hard it is to process. There are things you don't know whether to share because the fear still exists." She makes it clear that her stance is not tied to any ideology: "This is not politics, it's not about being right or left. This is a matter of humanity."
His testimony has direct family roots in the repression of the regime. His grandfather spent four years in the UMAP, the forced labor camps created by Fidel Castro between 1965 and 1968, where around 30,000 young people deemed "undesirable" were interned. His mother was detained in Villa Marista, the headquarters of the Cuban State Security, known for its interrogations. Both, he says, left with just the clothes on their backs and left resentment behind.
Since that experience, the author paints a stark portrait of present-day Cuba: "A country without rights, without food, without water, without electricity, without dignity. Cuba can no longer take it, gentlemen, Cuba is broken." And she reminds us that repression has not disappeared: "If a Cuban speaks up, if they express what they experience, if they share their thoughts, if they ask for freedom, they could end up in prison."
In the video description, it states: "Cuba is not an ideological safari. People suffer and fight for life, for survival." And it concludes with a call that summarizes its entire message: "Cubans do not want charity. Cubans want freedom. Cuba belongs to those who are inside, to those who are outside, to all of us who carry Cuban blood. Cuba belongs to all of us. Let's unite!"
The video is published at a time when Cuba is experiencing its worst crisis since the founding of the revolution. Blackouts exceed 20 hours daily following the cut in Venezuelan oil supplies, GDP could contract by 7.2% in 2026—accumulating a 23% drop since 2019—and 80% of Cubans believe the current situation is worse than the Special Period of the 1990s.
The flotilla transported between 20 and 50 tons of aid valued at $500,000, while Pablo Iglesias downplayed the crisis from a five-star hotel after meeting with Communist Party officials.
It has not been the only critical voice regarding the convoy. A participant of the flotilla to Gaza harshly criticized the Convoy Nuestra América to Cuba, and Spanish writer Juan Soto Ivars also attacked the pro-regime initiative.
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