The permanent representative of Cuba to the United Nations, Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, once again resorted to one of the most common arguments in the official narrative of the regime: portraying the Cuban people as a monolithic block ready to rally in support of the so-called "revolution" against any external threat.
During an interview granted to the network Al Mayadeen, the diplomat stated that "the majority of the Cuban people are willing to defend themselves if anyone attempts to invade our country" and also assured that "the entire Cuban people once again took to the plazas and the streets" to support the "revolution" and its historical leader, Raúl Castro.
The statements come alongside another recurring accusation from the official discourse: the existence of a supposed military aggression plan by the United States against Cuba. According to Soberón, Washington would be constructing a pretext to justify an intervention and has attempted to portray the island as a threat to U.S. security.
The official's message once again places Cubans at the center of a narrative of confrontation that the regime has used for decades to legitimize its hold on power.
The claim that "the majority" or even "the entire people" are willing to defend the "revolution" raises an obvious question: who authorized Soberón to speak on behalf of eleven million Cubans?
Throughout the years, leaders and spokespeople of the regime have repeatedly resorted to expressions such as "the Cuban people support," "the Cuban people back," or "the Cuban people are willing to resist," without there being free, plural, and verifiable mechanisms to truly measure citizens' support for those positions.
The speech also leaves no room for those who think differently. Under this logic, the millions of Cubans who have emigrated, the opposition, the activists, the political prisoners, the citizens who have participated in protests, or simply those who reject the system are excluded from the official definition of "the people".
For the regime, these millions of Cubans matter only to the extent that they preach "love," send remittances, invest, or travel to Cuba and stay, shop, and "enjoy" in its hotels, stores, and small businesses. For everything else, they "are not Cubans," or are "mal nacidos por error".
Soberón's words are particularly striking because they do not merely call for political support, but
The thesis that Cubans are prepared to defend the "revolution" against an invasion has historically been used by Castroism to reinforce the idea of a nation that is permanently besieged and to justify policies of mobilization, social control, and sacrifice in the name of sovereignty.
However, assuming that an entire society shares this disposition ignores the diversity of opinions that exist both within and outside the island. It also implies attributing to millions of people a will that has never been expressed through free democratic processes.
By insisting that "the entire people" are ready to face the challenge, Soberón Guzmán is not only speaking on behalf of Cubans. He also reinforces a narrative in which the regime and the nation are one and the same: an idea that for decades has been used to frame any criticism of the system as an aggression against Cuba and any dissent as a betrayal of the homeland.
In this context, the question remains the same as every time a Cuban leader invokes national unanimity: how many Cubans truly share that willingness, and how many have simply never had the opportunity to express themselves freely about it?
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