A Cuban in Havana responded to a resident in Italy who had previously requested AKM rifles from Miguel Díaz-Canel to "defend Cuba," clarifying that it would have been more useful to ask for a pair of gloves and a wheelbarrow to pick up some trash.
The user identified as Gonzales Angel shared a video on Facebook in which he shows part of the reality that Cubans live on the Island: a huge dump on a street.
"Look, for that one who lives in Italy and asked for an AKM to defend Cuba (I don't know from whom), she would have been better off asking for a pair of gloves and a wheelbarrow to pick up some garbage, because that's what needs to be done in this city," he expressed.
"A little cleaning, a little hygiene, to help prevent some of the diseases that are killing us," he emphasized.
The request to the ruler was made by Ada Galano, president of the National Coordinator of Cuban Residents in Italy (CONACI).
A native of Santiago de Cuba and residing in Milan, he made his controversial statements in March during the trip to Cuba by the Convoy Nuestra América, an initiative that gathered international leftist organizations to deliver humanitarian aid to the Island.
In an event presided over by the ruler Díaz-Canel, he stated: “Have our AKMs ready because just like today we have come here with medicine, tomorrow we will come to take our AKM if necessary.”
In a live broadcast on the same day, he added: "If the bombs were to come and I were to die here in my homeland, defending my homeland, then death would be welcome."
The irony of the message is backed by harsh data: in Havana only 44 out of 106 garbage trucks are operational due to fuel shortages, the landfills are overwhelmed, and there are areas where waste has not been collected for over ten days.
The accumulation of waste has created a health crisis acknowledged by the regime's own authorities, with a proliferation of rodents, mosquitoes that carry dengue and chikungunya, and garbage fires that emit toxic dioxins.
The contrast with Galano's position became even more striking when Cuban Anabel Hernández, who resides in Italy, published a video pointing out that Galano was staying at a GAESA hotel with electricity 24 hours a day, spending over 1,000 euros weekly, while Cubans endure blackouts lasting more than twenty hours.
The video by Gonzales Angel, which has gone viral, adds to a wave of critical responses to the Cuban who defends the dictatorship from the First World.
After the controversy, Galano did not clarify his statements nor respond to the criticism: he posted a message on Facebook titled THANK YOU FRIENDS, BECAUSE TOMORROW MIGHT BE TOO LATE, about friendship and gratitude, without mentioning the controversy.
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