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Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, national coordinator of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) and former spy known as one of the so-called "Five Heroes" by the Cuban regime, posted an aerial image of Times Square filled with protesters on social media in an attempt to equate the situation in the United States with that of Cuba, but the move backfired on him.
Hernández shared on Facebook a photograph from the massive protests "No Kings" on March 28, which mobilized millions of people at over 3,000 locations across the 50 states of the United States.
He accompanied the photograph with the text: "Without suffocating blockades and without forced blackouts, hundreds of thousands of Americans take to the streets to protest against the dictatorship of #Trump. Is the USA a failed state?"
The post, which included the hashtags #NoKings, #Cuba, #CDRCuba, and #CubaNoSeRinde, aimed to portray the United States as a country in crisis comparable to Cuba, but Cuban internet users responded with sarcasm and irony.
Irina Diéguez Toledo responded emphatically: "Don't give ideas", referring to the possibility that such images could encourage a Cuban people tired of misery and repression to take to the streets to protest.
Other users also reacted to Hernández's message with criticisms and comparisons between both systems. Elizabeth González Aznar pointed out that the protests in the United States are a show of democracy and questioned whether Cubans could freely express themselves on the island without facing consequences.
In the same vein, journalist Iliana Hernández stated that if it were a dictatorship, citizens would not be able to go out and protest, emphasizing that these demonstrations are possible precisely because of the freedoms that exist in that country.
Keiler Sánchez commented that he would only believe in such comparisons when Cubans can exercise that same right in their own country, while Brayan Nodarae questioned whether anyone in Cuba could protest without ending up in prison, as is the case in the United States.
David FA emphasized that it makes no sense to equate both realities, noting that in the United States, protests are part of citizen rights, while in Cuba, following the demonstrations of July 11, 2021, the response was repression, detentions, and fear.
The "No Kings" protests that took place last Saturday marked the third day of a national movement against president Donald Trump, with estimates of up to nine million participants nationwide according to the organizers.
The movement criticizes Trump's authoritarian style, the war with Iran, the rising cost of living, and the immigration policies of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
Meanwhile, Cuba is experiencing a deep crisis with massive blackouts, food shortages, and repressed popular protests, which makes Hernández's attempt to use the American demonstrations as a propaganda argument particularly ironic.
This episode follows a recurring pattern in the former spy's social media activity. In January, Hernández inadvertently promoted the anti-government slogan "Basta ya! Cuba pa' la calle" by sharing a comparison of posters to discredit a graffiti on the Malecón in Havana.
In February, his attack on the El4tico project and comedian Andy Vázquez generated thousands of criticisms with a viral effect contrary to what was intended.
Last Wednesday, photos of him riding a bicycle taxi in La Güinera were met with mockery: "clown imitating Sandro," "he didn't move an inch for the photo," "the people are suffering from hunger and misery," wrote Cubans on social media.
Hernández was sentenced in 2001 to two life sentences for conspiracy to commit espionage and murder, related to the shooting down of planes from the Brothers to the Rescue on February 24, 1996, which resulted in the deaths of four Cuban-American pilots.
He was released on December 17, 2014 as part of the thaw agreement between Barack Obama and Raúl Castro, and since then he has climbed the ranks within the regime's nomenclature to become national coordinator of the CDR in April 2020.
Their propaganda posts have become a systematic target for mockery and criticism from the Cuban community both inside and outside the island, resulting in the opposite effect of what they aim for each time they attempt to defend the regime on social media.
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