A young Cuban resident in Serbia, identified on TikTok as @ana_exposito97, posted a little over a two-minute video last Monday, where she responds firmly to those who insulted her for expressing her pain over the situation in Cuba, amassing hundreds of views in just a few days.
The video emerged as a response to the negative comments that Ana Expósito received after posting a previous message about her feelings towards the island. Among the reactions against her, she was called 'gusana' and 'ungrateful' for speaking poorly of the country that, according to her critics, shaped her.
The young woman firmly rejected that accusation: "I have nothing to thank communism for because thanks to communism, I haven't been able to hug my family in five years, I haven't known if I will ever see my grandmother alive again." Her words immediately resonated with thousands of Cubans in the diaspora who share a similar experience.
One of the most frequently mentioned arguments against Cuban emigrants who criticize the regime is that their voice doesn't matter because they live outside the island. Ana Expósito directly countered this: "It bothers me when they say that the voice of those who are outside doesn't count, and I tell them that it does matter, because when we speak, there is always someone who doesn't know the situation in our country and learns about it from us."
The young woman also highlighted the bravery of those who emigrated alone, without a language or cultural references: "each one of us who emigrated was stronger and braver than many of you who still chose to stay inside; they went alone with a backpack on their shoulder and leaving everything, absolutely everything, behind." This type of testimony resonates with that of other voices, such as the Cuban who moved many by sharing her anti-communist story from abroad.
About the regime's official narrative, she was emphatic: "Communism has no defense, it is something utterly indefensible, and I cannot understand how there are people today, seeing the suffering of the people, who can still believe in a blockade that does not exist and has never existed." A stance she shares with figures like Cuqui La Mora, who also attacks communism as the sole misfortune of the Cubans.
The term 'gusano' or 'gusana' has its roots in the Cuban Revolution of the 1960s, when the regime used it to stigmatize those who left the country. The insult persists today on social media among supporters of the regime. In January of this year, state television presenter Yanet Pérez used it against users who questioned the distribution of rice.
Ana Expósito's testimony is set against the backdrop of the largest Cuban exodus in recent history, which began in 2022 and has been driven by power outages of up to 20 hours a day, severe food shortages, and political repression. In the early months of 2026, the International Organization for Migration recorded nearly 1,500 arrivals of Cubans via regional routes, while over half a million who arrived in the United States between 2019 and 2023 face legal limbo.
Ana Expósito concluded her video with a direct warning to those who still defend communism: "remember what is happening and keep in mind the face of each person who is fighting today for a free Cuba, so that tomorrow, when our island is free, you have absolutely no right to live in a free Cuba." This position has also been expressed by other emigrants, such as the Cuban who explains if she would return to Cuba when it is free.
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