Fidel Antonio Castro Smirnov, grandson of the late Cuban dictator, delivered a speech lasting over 26 minutes on July 5 at the Semana Negra in Gijón, Spain, in which he defended the Cuban revolution using metaphors from nuclear physics. He faced a wave of mockery and criticism on social media for discussing socialism from the comfort of Europe while the Cuban people endure blackouts and shortages.
The event, framed within the XVIII State Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba, was organized by the Lázaro Cárdenas Association and the State Movement of Solidarity with Cuba. It also featured the presence of Elián González and Fernando González Llort, one of the so-called Five Cuban Heroes.
Castro Smirnov, a doctor in Biology and Physical Sciences and a professor of Nuclear Physics in Havana, coined the phrase “Cuba represents the physics of dignity” during his speech, arguing that the American embargo, far from fracturing the island, actually “densifies” it, much like certain materials under extreme pressure.
The most discussed passage was when he equated Cuban vaccines with nuclear weapons: "Our nuclear weapons are not designed to kill or destroy cities. They are designed to save lives, eradicate ignorance, and cure diseases. Our warheads are the vaccines developed by our scientists."
He also launched slogans against the United States: "While the terrorist and criminal empire plans surgical attacks, we plan vaccines. While they build walls, we train doctors."
The full video, published by the Castro propaganda outlet Cubainformación TV, has garnered over 11,000 views and 712 likes on Facebook, but also hundreds of comments, many of which are ironic and scathing.
The contradiction between the revolutionary rhetoric expressed from Spain and the reality experienced by the Cuban people was the main focus of the criticism.
“From an imported tablecloth and an aged wine, one fights quite well. From a giant house and an elegant car, one also suffers,” wrote a user.
Another was more direct: "I respect your opinion, sir, but live in Cuba for three months with an ordinary job, without the luxuries and benefits of the Castros. Live like my mother, my father, and my brother do, and then give another speech."
The mockery also targeted the length of the speech and its grandiose tone. "What a circus," summarized one commentator.
Another called it a "ridiculous spectacle" and pointed out that the members of the Castro elite "laugh at the people because they are protected." Someone else simply wrote: "They all have the same little speech."
The dictator's grandson is no stranger to controversy. He has been criticized for skydiving funded with public resources in 2023 and 2024, and in August 2025, after being injured in Chile, he received a visit from a medical team sent expressly from Havana, in stark contrast to the healthcare collapse affecting the Cuban population.
This speech in Gijón is part of an intense international propaganda agenda: in February 2026, he spoke in London asserting that Cuba will not kneel before Trump, and in April, he participated in a forum in Moscow where he thanked Russia for sending oil to the island.
The event in Gijón was interrupted when the young Cuban Adelainys Castán broke in during Elián González's speech, shouting "murderers" and "Homeland and Life," a moment that encapsulated the gap between the official narrative and the sentiments of those who have fled the dictatorship.
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