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Yudelkis Ortiz Barceló, the First Secretary of the Communist Party in Granma, and Yanetsy Terry Gutiérrez, the governor of that province, visited the Spiritist Center "Buscando Luz y Verdad" in Monte Oscuro, Bayamo, on Monday to proclaim that Cuban spiritist communities support the regime in light of rising tensions with the United States.
Abel Prieto, cultural advisor to the Cuban Presidency and former Minister of Culture, published a photograph of his visit on his Facebook profile with the message: "I can attest that Cuban spiritualists are united in defense of peace, sovereignty, and our socialism."
Ortiz Barceló, for his part, shared on Facebook images from the meeting under the slogan "Peace for Cuba!!!" and the hashtag #ConLaFuerzaDeLaUnidad, stating that "regardless of beliefs, we were united by the thoughts and the desire for love, peace for our country, and a rejection of war".
The visit takes place within the framework of a total mobilization campaign by the regime. Last Sunday, the leader Miguel Díaz-Canel warned about "the imminent threat of a military aggression" from the United States, invoked the doctrine of the "War of All the People," and declared that "every Cuban woman and every Cuban man has a rifle."
Days earlier, the regime staged the delivery of supposed 6.2 million signatures from the campaign "My Signature for the Homeland" to Raúl Castro and Díaz-Canel, an operation that critics denounced as propaganda involving forced participation.
The instrumentalization of espiritismo embodies a fundamental ideological contradiction: Marxism-Leninism, the official doctrine of the Communist Party of Cuba, views religion as the "opium of the people," and the regime upheld state atheism for decades, discriminating against believers and excluding them from its ranks until the IV Congress of the PCC in 1991.
This is not the first time Prieto has led such an initiative. In August 2025, the former minister visited the Quisicuaba Project to celebrate the “patriotism and loyalty to the revolution” of Cuban spiritists, and that same project promised to “save the revolution and socialism” through spiritist practices.
The visited center, founded by Salustiano Olivera Sánchez and with 115 years of history, practices cordón spiritism, a syncretic tradition from the Valle del Cauto that combines Kardecist, African, and Creole elements deeply rooted in the eastern region of Cuba.
The presence of Ortiz Barceló and Terry Gutiérrez at the event is particularly striking given the documented history of both officials, who are known for showcasing coerced retractations from citizens on their social media.
In November 2025, they showcased the elderly Francisca forced to thank the regime after losing her bed in a hurricane, and in March 2025 they displayed the protester Mayelín Carrasco stating that she was "very sorry for her actions" after being detained in Río Cauto.
In May 2025, the head of the PCC in Granma lashed out at social media for allowing a "freedom to hate" in response to protests in Jiguaní over blackouts, shortages, and a lack of water.
The same official who repressed those protesting against the crisis is now seen in a spiritualist center proclaiming "love" and "peace," in what the regime presents as national unity, but which actually follows the same propaganda logic of mobilizing all social sectors in response to external pressure.
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