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The Cuban troubadour Raúl Torres, known for his songs praising Fidel and Raúl Castro and his unwavering support for the tyrannical regime in Cuba, published a public letter on Facebook this week addressed to Pope Leo XIV, in which he harshly criticizes Catholic priest Alberto Reyes Pías, parish priest of Esmeralda, Camagüey, and one of the bravest voices of the Cuban Church against the dictatorship.
The letter, signed as "A Humble Son of the Lord," is richly adorned with biblical quotations and flowery language. It is hard not to appreciate the irony: the same man who composed "Riding with Fidel," "The Return of the Friend" — dedicated to Hugo Chávez — and, in August 2025, premiered "I Am for Fidel" for the 99th anniversary of the dictator's birth, now presents himself to the Supreme Pontiff as an aspiring poet and guardian of the Gospel.
In the letter, Torres accuses Father Reyes Pías of having "let loose the incense to wield the torch" and asserts that the priest "does not announce the Kingdom: he announces revenge." He accuses him of "encouraging death" and states that "his words do not build bridges: they dig graves where those he claims to defend will lie." To conclude, he asks the Pope for his "apostolic staff to strike this rock of intolerance," referring to the priest from Camagüey.
What Torres refers to as "intolerance" is, in fact, the systematic denunciation that Father Reyes Pías has upheld from his parish regarding the humanitarian crisis suffocating Cuba: endless blackouts, shortages of medication, hunger, and repression. In October 2025, the priest accused the regime of committing a "silent genocide" due to the lack of pharmaceuticals and the hunger that the population is suffering. In January 2026, State Security summoned him along with another priest in Camagüey, which was interpreted as a sign of pressure from the regime on critical voices within the Church.
Far from being intimidated, Reyes Pías continued publishing his weekly column "I Have Been Thinking." On Friday the 12th —a day after Torres' letter— he released a new installment titled "It cannot be normal to live in survival mode", in which he demands a "radical change" for Cuba. Weeks earlier, he had stated that he preferred "a dreadful ending" to the status quo of misery and stagnation. In one of his most quoted phrases, the priest warned: "The dictatorship, which was established without you, will not change without you."
While Father Reyes Pías risks his freedom for speaking the truth, Torres dedicates himself to defending the regime with full bellicose lyricism and publishing anti-American pieces in support of the official narrative. In May 2026, he even claimed that "in Cuba, those in power do not get rich," and in September 2025 asserted that there is freedom of expression in Cuba, citing as an example that he himself can express himself on social media. No one asked him if Father Reyes Pías enjoys the same peace of mind.
The letter to the Pope did not go unnoticed on social media. Numerous internet users reacted to the message with a mix of mockery and indignation, highlighting the paradox of a troubadour serving an atheist dictatorship attempting to teach a priest, who has risked his freedom to defend his people, about the Gospel.
Torres signs his letter with the phrase “In Christ, who weeps when Cain awakens.” The image is unintentionally revealing: in this story, it is not the priest who denounces the hunger of his people that wields the torch, but rather the one who writes letters to the Pope to silence him.
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