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The Cuban News Agency (ACN) published a note this Friday in which a Colombian trade unionist describes Cuba as “a model of dignity for nations,” during the International Solidarity Meeting with Cuba held at the Palacio de Convenciones de La Habana. The text, disseminated by the regime’s official press, perfectly summarizes the chasm between the propagandistic narrative and the reality experienced by millions of Cubans.
The protagonist of the statements is Néstor Gaitán Rey, from the Union of Employees and Workers of Sena (Setrasena) of Colombia, who stated that “the largest of the Antilles is only worthy of international gratitude for being an example of resistance and solidarity, not of the imperialist pressures from the United States government that seek chaos in the archipelago,” according to ACN. Words that, spoken while thousands of Cubans go to bed without dinner, take on a tone that is hard to describe without resorting to the dictionary of the absurd.
Gaitán Rey also expressed that "to ensure the future of the world, it is necessary for the desires for peace to prevail over war," and added that "in such complex times that the largest of the Antilles is experiencing, it is essential for the world to do more for the good of a nation that has never hesitated to offer its support to other lands." Solidarity, indeed: the same that the regime exports while its citizens survive on meager rations of whatever may appear.
The International Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba and Anti-imperialism "100 Years with Fidel" gathered 766 delegates from 152 organizations across 36 countries and was presided over by Miguel Díaz-Canel alongside Raúl Castro, who re-emerged visibly weakened and fragile in his first public appearance since December 2025. Díaz-Canel himself, during the closing of the event, described the Trump administration as "fascist", which gives an idea of the rhetorical tone of the meeting.
The ACN presented the meeting as proof of "Cuba's international support." On that same day, President Donald Trump signed a new executive order expanding sanctions against the Island in the sectors of energy, defense, mining, and finance, with extraterritorial reach to foreign banks and companies that do business with it.
While the delegates applauded Cuban "dignity," the island is experiencing power outages of up to 25 hours daily and an electricity deficit of 1,885 megawatts. The GDP is projected to decline by -7.2% in 2026, with a cumulative contraction of 23% since 2019. The 96.91% of the population has lost adequate access to food due to inflation, and five provinces — Havana, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Guantánamo, and Santiago de Cuba — are at critical levels of food security.
The regime responded to this catastrophe with the "Zero Option" plan, a scheme of severe rationing and forced self-sufficiency, brought back from the 1990s and announced in February 2026. 80% of Cubans believe the current crisis is worse than the Special Period of that terrible decade in the nation. But of course, everything looks different from the Palace of Conventions.
This type of "ideological tourism" is not new. In March 2026, the "Nuestra América" Convoy brought 650 activists from 33 countries to Havana, including Pablo Iglesias, Jeremy Corbyn, and Rashida Tlaib. In April, a European convoy "Primero de Mayo" arrived with 120 delegates from 19 countries. The collapse of real tourism leaves 300,000 workers in the sector in crisis: in March 2026, only 35,561 visitors arrived, a drop of 112,642 compared to the same month the previous year. However, ideological tourism is indeed operating at full capacity.
Gaitán Rey concluded that "he cannot help but admire the ability of Cubans to not halt their vision for the country despite the hegemonic policies of the White House." Cubans, for their part, continue searching for ways to survive while the regime organizes acts of solidarity with foreign delegates who return to their countries with full stomachs and a clear conscience.
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