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Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, national coordinator of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) and member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba, posted on Facebook a video featuring children in an activity —waving to the person recording, with music in the background— accompanied by the question: “Could anyone among those asking for aggression against Cuba assure that children like these will not be ‘collateral damage’?”
The post, tagged with the hashtags #CDRCuba, #CubaNoSeRinde, and #LaPatriaSeDefiende, sparked an avalanche of responses that countered the official's argument with unusual forcefulness.
Hundreds of Cubans, both on the island and abroad, accused Hernández of hypocrisy and of using images of minors as a political shield instead of denouncing the crisis they themselves face daily.
"Putting the children as a shield. They should be embarrassed. That's where the double standards of the communists are evident," wrote one of the commentators, in a statement that encapsulated the majority sentiment in the comments section.
Others pointed out that Cuban children are already "collateral damage" of the regime itself: "Those children are already collateral damage, just as we have been for generations. Rather, ask them how many of them have breakfast, snacks, lunch, and dinner like your children do," responded another user.
The most repeated criticism pointed to the real conditions of childhood in Cuba: children without milk since the age of seven, without electricity to sleep, without medications in hospitals, and without proper nutrition in schools and daycare centers.
“Gerardo, if that happens, the ones to blame are you, because those children are going hungry and can't even sleep, thanks to you, inept and corrupt,” wrote another commenter.
Several users recalled the sinking of the tugboat «13 de Marzo» on July 13, 1994, when Cuban state vessels chased and sunk a boat carrying 72 people attempting to flee the island, resulting in the deaths of at least 37 individuals, including children: “Were the children from the tugboat 13 de Marzo also collateral damage?” one of them asked.
Others questioned the regime's spending on weapons while the child population lacks basic necessities: "How much did the 300 drones purchased from Iran cost while the people were dying of hunger and lack of medicine?"
This is not the first time that Hernández has caused this type of reaction. In March, the official shared a video of children from La Colmenita singing "Me acosa el carapálida" by Silvio Rodríguez during a blackout, which was also heavily criticized as political manipulation involving minors.
In April, the regime filled a park with children to prevent a gathering of university students in Havana, and in May, schools in Santiago de Cuba instructed minors to make bracelets with their personal information "in case bombs are dropped."
Several commentators also noted that posting images of minors without their parents' consent on social media constitutes a crime, regardless of the political message intended to be conveyed.
"Only innocent people will die if you shoot at them yourselves, or worse, if you use them as human shields," summarized another user the prevailing position in the comments.
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