Yudelkis Ortiz Barceló, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in the province of Granma, joined the support show for Raúl Castro organized in Cinco Palmas this Friday with two posts on her Facebook profile, in which she stated: “We will continue riding with Fidel and Raúl until victory forever. Homeland or Death!!!”
The event took place on Thursday in Cinco Palmas, Media Luna municipality, Granma, as the conclusion of a historical route that recreated the journey from Las Coloradas to that symbolic site where Fidel and Raúl Castro reunited in 1956 after the landing of the yacht Granma.
Ninety-five prominent young people from the province participated alongside community members in what the regime presented as an "anti-imperialist tribunal" to condemn the legal charges filed in the United States against Raúl Castro.
In a second post accompanied by a video, Ortiz Barceló wrote: “The People of Cuba reaffirm the unshakeable decision to defend the homeland and the Revolution and with the greatest strength and determination, their unwavering and unchanging support for the Army General”, along with the slogan #RaúlEsRaúl.
In a third post, the leader described the event as a “vibrant, exciting, powerful presentation” of artists at the tribute to Raúl in Cinco Palmas, and stated that “all the residents here and around, along with the youth from the Historical Route, enjoyed it and were very moved.”
The images show horse riders carrying Cuban flags and red and black flags of the 26th of July Movement against a backdrop of green hills and palm trees, while participants wear t-shirts with the slogan "Raúl is Raúl."
The immediate context of the act is the formal accusation declassified on May 20 by a federal grand jury in Miami against Raúl Castro for the shooting down of two planes from Hermanos al Rescate on February 24, 1996, which resulted in the deaths of four American citizens of Cuban descent: Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales.
The charges include conspiracy to assassinate American citizens, destruction of aircraft, and four counts of murder, extending also to five former Cuban military personnel.
Ortiz Barceló has a documented history of propagandistic actions in service of the regime: she attended a spiritual cordon in Bayamo to "ward off" threats from the United States, described Hurricane Melissa as "an opportunity to demonstrate that the Revolution is still alive", and lashed out at social media for allowing "freedom to hate" following protests in Jiguaní over power outages and shortages.
The Cuban regime declared 2026 as the "Year of Preparation for Defense" and has intensified its militaristic rhetoric in response to the legal accusations against Castro, with the event in Cinco Palmas serving as the centerpiece of that orchestrated response from Havana.
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