Related videos:
The former spy Ramón Labañino Salazar, one of the so-called "Five Heroes" of the Cuban regime, provoked a wave of mockery and criticism on social media after stating on his Facebook account that "in Cuba, the power belongs to the people."
In the same post, Labañino added that "the market does not dictate and cannot dictate the nation's destiny, but rather the Party and Socialist Planning," a contradiction that users were quick to point out: if power belongs to the people, why is it the Party that decides the direction of the country?
The most emphatic and cited response was from the user Daniel De Jesús Pascual: "Tell that to GAESA."
The reference points directly to Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., the military conglomerate founded by Raúl Castro in the 1990s that controls between 40% and 70% of the Cuban GDP and 95% of the country's foreign currency financial transactions.
The conglomerate operates as a public company without citizen or state oversight: Cubans are not shareholders, do not receive dividends, and cannot audit its books.
Dozens of comments described Labañino's post as a "meme," "joke," and "parody."
Yanelis Pérez Torres wrote: "This is the best joke I have read in the last 47 years."
Other users pointed out the internal contradiction of the text itself.
RM Adrián responded: "The power belongs to the people, and the party is the one that decides the nation's destiny. Get organized, Five Heroes."
In the case of Circe Gallardo, she asked: "How can you say that power lies with the people and then say that the party dictates the nation's destiny?"
Similarly, Colette Galvez Miranda was more direct: "A people that is suffering from blackouts, hunger, and hardships cannot claim to have power."
For her part, Jany Mansito pointed out another concrete reality: "So, is the USD at 700 because the people want it?"
Andres Rego Egues pointed to the repression: "The people can't even speak because they'll throw you out with 15 [punishments]."
Several commentators also recalled that Labañino's daughter studied in Spain while the Cuban people lack similar opportunities.
Barbara Prol Romero asked directly, "Did the Party send your daughter to study in Spain?"
In the same vein, Ernesto Gomila summed up the general sentiment with irony: "You are definitely a better comedian than a spy."
Labañino was released in December 2014 following the thaw in relations between the administrations of Barack Obama and Raúl Castro, after serving part of a sentence for conspiracy to commit espionage in the United States.
Since his return to Cuba, the regime declared him a Hero of the Republic and appointed him vice president of the National Association of Economists and Accountants of Cuba.
This is not the first time that his/her publications have faced backlash.
In January 2022, Labañino requested on social media "ideas to lower prices" in Cuba, which also sparked massive criticism.
Additionally, in March of this year, he had published the phrase "In Cuba, we Cubans are in charge," in line with his usual stance.
Ariel Miranda Cuellar summarized the collective reaction to the new post: "You wanted to make the meme of the day and you ended up making the blunder of the year."
Filed under: