The presentation of a book by Cuban historian and political scientist Oscar Grandío at the Bogotá International Book Fair (FILBo) ended in a tense confrontation when two Colombian citizens burst in shouting to defend the Havana regime and attempt to disrupt the event.
The incident occurred at the stand of the Cuba Program, a space dedicated to the critical analysis of the island's reality.
A video circulated on social media by journalist Mario J. Pentón showed the moment when two individuals began to interrupt the presentation with slogans and statements such as that the opponents based in Miami are “fascists”, and that Cuba has “the best health system in the world”, which generated immediate backlash among those presiding over the meeting.
One of those present responded first to the subjects, noting that in the context of the pandemic, even the most neoliberal governments in the world – including Iván Duque's Colombia – invested in social spending, something that did not happen in Cuba, where they only focused on building hotels.
The argument of the regime's supporters—amid shouts—was that the island had an excellent healthcare system.
In the midst of the altercation, Cuban journalist Mario J. Pentón -who was present at the event- intervened and directly confronted the protesters, dismantling their arguments and raising the tone of the exchange.
Pentón pointed out two Cuban doctors in the audience who cannot return to the island after leaving official missions, and confronted one of the protesters who was trying to leave.
“Look, they are Cuban doctors. Come, don’t go, don’t go. Come, come, dear, come here. Look, they are Cuban doctors whom the regime you defend prevents from returning to their country. Their mothers, their grandmothers, are dying and they can’t go to say goodbye to them for one simple reason: they escaped from a mission where 90% of their salary is stolen,” he stated.
Immediately afterward, he launched a direct criticism:
"Then don't come talking nonsense about what you don't know, because it's very easy to pontificate from Colombia, with your belly full, and not talk about what Cubans are experiencing."
Pentón later reported what happened on his social media
"The Cuban regime and its allies thought about sabotaging the presentation of the book by my dear friend Oscar Grandío at the Bogotá International Book Fair. But they ended up embarrassed. I will never cease to be amazed by the authoritarianism of an ideology that fails to provide any arguments. Just empty slogans. Here we are, continuing to tell the truth about Cuba, even if it hurts them."
The episode brought back to the forefront one of the most recurring complaints about the Cuban system: the situation of doctors on international missions.
According to Decree-Law 306 of 2012, those who abandon these missions are classified as "deserters" and may be punished with a ban on entering the country for up to eight years, which results in a forced separation from their families.
Various reports also indicate that the Cuban state retains between 83% and 91.6% of the salary paid by receiving countries for these professionals, a practice that has been widely criticized by organizations and experts.
The consequences are also reflected within the island.
Official data from the National Office of Statistics and Information indicate that the number of doctors in Cuba decreased from 106,131 in 2021 to 75,364 in 2024, a drop of more than 30,000 professionals in just three years, amid a health crisis marked by shortages of resources, personnel, and medications.
The altercation at the FILBo highlights how the official discourse of the Cuban regime continues to generate confrontation even outside the island, especially when it clashes with firsthand accounts from those who have experienced its consequences.
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