The president of the Casa de las Américas and an intellectual figure of the Cuban regime, Abel Prieto, affirmed this Saturday that on July 11, 2021, "the Cuban people and the Revolutionary Leadership together defeated a plan conceived and financed by the Empire and the Miami mafia," which sparked a wave of rejection on social media on the fifth anniversary of the largest protests in Cuba in over six decades.
Through his Facebook profile, Prieto rated the protests of 11J as "a farce of uprising demanding freedom" led by "paid individuals from the North, alongside confused and irresponsible people and unscrupulous looters."
He also celebrated the regime's response with the phrase, "That day we triumphed!!! And we will keep triumphing!!!"
The post was accompanied by images that users in the comments pointed out were unrelated to the events of July 11, 2021, but rather corresponded to other official gatherings.
"Don't be a liar. None of those photos correspond to July 11, 2021. And your president Díaz-Canel was so cowardly that he couldn't stand up to the protesters in Havana. To suppress them, he sent armed elite troops from Minint against an unarmed people who were simply asking for freedom. No one paid me a dime for asking for freedom," a user replied directly on the post.
Other comments were equally forceful. "Oh please, sir. A poor and humble people who took to the streets fed up with so much abandonment to ask for freedom were paid for by the empire. Oh, but be serious," wrote another person.
A third user recalled the phrase that Díaz-Canel uttered that day: "The combat order has been given: that was Díaz-Canel's response. A strong statement that will surely be used in his trial for State Terrorism."
A reflection also circulated that summarizes the reality of the Island: "Cuba is a country where there is 'freedom of expression' but 'there is no guarantee of freedom after the expression'."
A user succinctly captured what the regime prefers to ignore: "That day, our People showed the world their longing for FREEDOM despite being an unarmed People, and stood up to the most cruel, long-standing, and repressive dictatorship on our continent."
Prieto was not the only leader to advocate for that narrative this Saturday. Roberto Morales Ojeda, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba, stated on X that the 11J was "a popular victory", which sparked a wave of similar critical responses.
The official version contrasts with the documented facts. The protests on July 11 began in San Antonio de los Baños, in the province of Artemisa, and spread to more than 40 cities, driven by shortages, power outages, and a lack of freedoms.
The regime cut off access to the internet, deployed Minint forces, and confirmed at least one death, Diubis Laurencio Tejeda, who was shot in La Güinera on July 12, 2021. Over 1,400 people were detained, with sentences of up to 30 years in prison.
Five years later, 338 people remain imprisoned directly for their participation in the 11J, according to the organization Justicia 11J, which launched the #CincoAñosSinJusticia campaign this Saturday.
The regime's pardon in April, which released over 2,000 inmates, explicitly excluded those convicted of "crimes against authority," a designation used to criminalize protesters.
The historian and professor Alina Bárbara López, under house arrest in Matanzas, described the regime this Saturday as a "terrorist state against its own people" and recalled that "repression has only increased in response to the constant protests of an exploited and abandoned citizenry."
According to Prisoners Defenders, Cuba reached a historic record of 1,306 political prisoners at the end of June, including 40 minors, 16 of whom are held in adult prisons.
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