The Cuban influencer Pedro Jorge Velázquez, known on social media as El Necio, traveled to Moscow and granted an interview to the Russian state media Sputnik Mundo in which he stated that "there is a lot of admiration for Putin and the Russian people at this moment in Cuba."
Velázquez attributed this supposed popular sentiment to the shipment of Russian oil to the island, which would have allowed for a brief period of relief from the blackouts in Havana during the week of April 20 to 25.
"Last week, there were very few power outages in Cuba. Havana was completely lit up. Videos of illuminated Havana went viral. And do you know why? Because of Russian oil. In other words, it was refined right away and went straight to electricity generation. And Havana was completely illuminated. A sight we hadn't seen in a long time, in recent months," declared the official propagandist.
El Necio also took the opportunity during the interview to defend Russia's image against what he referred to as the Western narrative: "This gives you the idea that it's not that wild Russia, that doesn’t care about anyone and is only willing to save itself —as portrayed in the West— but rather a Russia that shows solidarity, which for a small island also lends a hand and puts in effort to support a defenseless people like Cuba, the Cuban people."
Pedro Jorge, who is in Moscow to participate in the Sovintern Forum, was photographed alongside Sputnik journalist Víctor Ternovsky in an official-looking hall in Moscow, both displaying their accreditation credentials. Ternovsky posted on his X account: "It was a pleasure to meet @ElNecio_Cuba in person during his visit to Moscow. Thank you for the interview and for being with Russia!"
The events described by El Necio are only partially verifiable. The first shipment of Russian oil —between 730,000 and 740,000 barrels transported by the tanker Anatoly Kolodkin— arrived at the port of Matanzas on March 31 following a diplomatic concession from Havana, and began distribution on April 17, reactivating more than 100 MW of electricity generation.
However, Díaz-Canel himself acknowledged that the Russian shipment covers only one third of the country's monthly needs, equivalent to just ten days of supply.
Moreover, while Havana received preferential treatment during those days, provinces such as Holguín, Granma, and Santiago de Cuba experienced power outages lasting between 18 and 24 hours daily during the same period.
The blackouts returned to the capital on the night of April 25 to 26, and this Tuesday the National Electric System reports a deficit in electricity generation exceeding 930 MW, with projections of over 1,370 MW affected during the nighttime peak.
El Necio is considered the main digital propagandist of the Cuban regime on social media. In February 2026, the United States imposed visa restrictions for alleged harassment campaigns against U.S. diplomats in Cuba, including the dissemination of images of license plates and vehicles belonging to Chargé d'Affaires Mike Hammer. Velázquez reacted by calling the measure a "political retaliation" and asserted that it was "journalistic investigation."
His visit to Moscow and his statements to Sputnik—a media outlet funded by the Russian state—are part of the joint Cuban-Russian propaganda strategy to portray fuel shipments as an act of anti-imperialist solidarity, at a time when Cuba needs eight fuel shipments a month but only received one between December 2025 and April 2026.
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