A Cuban woman named Lisbeet Bárzaga became the face of the food tragedy occurring on the Island this week after posting a video on Facebook in which her young daughter cries asking for meat and plantains, as she only has rice and beans on her plate.
In the images, the girl confesses to her mother that she also wants meat and a banana, and that she doesn’t like food "alone." "I don't like food like this, with rice and stew," she says with distress.
"When a child tells you that and you can't do anything, it breaks your heart," Lisbeet wrote.
The video garnered almost 40,000 views and sparked a wave of comments. Many expressed solidarity, while others attacked the mother, accusing her of exposing her daughter on the Internet for financial gain.
Bárzaga, who manages the profile “LisbeetBarzagaLifestyle,” where she documents her daily life in Cuba, responded to her critics with a second video in which she did not apologize, but rather put into context what her followers had seen.
"That is the reality for 90% of Cubans, for those of us who have no one abroad to send us money and who work humbly, and even while working, we still cannot provide the minimum that our children can eat," she stated firmly.
The woman, born in Camagüey and living in Cienfuegos, firmly rejected the accusations and made it clear that her daughter "was not doing anything wrong at all," and that she was simply asking for what any child would ask for.
“I never asked anyone for money at any time, please stop offending people,” she emphasized, and announced that she will report all users who insult or judge her in the comments.
He explained that he works as an influencer for Amazon and Temu promoting purchase links, and that he has not asked for charity or handouts from anyone.
She also pointed out the hypocrisy of those who criticize her from a position of comfort: "Stop believing, whether from the United States or here in Cuba, especially from the comfort of your car or your air-conditioned home, that you hold all the reality and truth in your hands."
Bárzaga concluded his response with a phrase that encapsulates the outrage of thousands of Cuban families: "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. You are simply revealing all that poison you truly carry within."
The case of this mother is not an exception.
Cuba is experiencing the worst food crisis in its recent history. According to data from independent organizations, 96.91% of Cubans lack adequate access to food, and 33.9% of households had at least one member who went to bed hungry in the past 30 days.
National food production has fallen by 67% over five years, and the country relies on imports for 80% of its consumption.
Children are the ones who suffer the most from this scarcity. UNICEF warned in November 2025 that one in ten Cuban children suffers from food poverty, and 48.5% of schoolchildren aged six to eleven receive no meals at their educational institutions.
Other Cuban mothers have gone viral with similar testimonies: a mother who stood up to the local government demanding food, and another who cried on camera saying that “the children are without food”.
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