Related videos:
The Russian Embassy in Cuba published a denial on its official Facebook account this Monday, acknowledging that the images circulating on social media about the alleged arrival of a Russian nuclear submarine in the bay of Havana "do not reflect reality."
The rumor was spread by the verified account @DD_Geopoliti (DD Geopolitics) on X, which published the text "BREAKING: A Russian nuclear submarine has arrived today in Havana, Cuba, just 90 miles from the United States. The submarine entered the port of Havana in front of the historic monument... with visible Russian sailors on deck."
The Russian embassy clarified, with a tone that could not hide the discomfort of the moment, that the material actually corresponds to the visit of a flotilla from the Russian Navy to Havana that took place in June 2024, and not to any recent event.
"Although we wish it were true, we regret to inform our followers that the posts circulating on social media regarding the alleged arrival of a Russian nuclear submarine in the bay of Havana do not correspond to reality," the diplomatic representation wrote, words that also imply a threat.
The phrase "although we would have liked it to be true" proved to be particularly revealing: the embassy itself implicitly acknowledged that it would have celebrated the news had it been true.
The reused images correspond to the arrival of the nuclear submarine K-561 Kazan in the bay of Havana on June 12, 2024, when a flotilla of four ships from the Russian Northern Fleet —which also included the frigate Admiral Gorshkov, the tanker Pashin, and the tugboat Nikolai Chiker— made an official visit, marking the first presence of a Russian nuclear-capable submarine in the Caribbean in over 30 years.
The post showed the submarine passing in front of the Castillo del Morro, the iconic lighthouse at the entrance to Havana's bay, a scene that actually took place in 2024 and at the time generated enormous geopolitical tension.
The Kazan submarine departed from Havana on June 17, 2024 after a five-day visit, during which Miguel Díaz-Canel boarded the Russian frigate and submarine in an act of political display.
A second Russian flotilla, consisting of the training ship Smolny, the patrol vessel Neustrashimy, and the tanker Yelnya, arrived in Havana between July 26 and 30, 2024, which may also have been a source of some of the reused material.
Filed under: