In the midst of a chronic energy collapse, food shortages, and suffocating inflation, the Cuban government has chosen to once again activate its traditional manual for ideological resistance.
Through its main dissemination organ, the official newspaper Granma, the regime in Havana has launched a harsh discourse offensive aimed at delegitimizing both popular discontent and the coverage by foreign media, accusing them of being part of a sophisticated destabilization plan.
In the recent opinion article titled “Complicity or Subversive Protagonism in Search of an Outburst?”, authored by Francisco Arias Fernández, the government has not held back in using strong adjectives to describe the work of foreign correspondents and the accredited press agencies on the island.
The text directly points to internationally renowned media outlets as being aligned with Washington's interests, stating that "media or correspondents accredited in Havana at the behest of Washington, such as the unfriendly and non-objective agency efe, mingle with cyber mercenaries" with the aim of heating up the political scene during the summer months.
For the Cuban government, the flow of information about the precarious reality of the island is not a reflection of a structural crisis, but rather a deliberate campaign of suffocation and manipulation.
According to the official rhetoric, the ultimate goal of this journalistic coverage is to justify an external intervention.
The article denounces that foreign powers and their supposed media allies "are betting that the martyrdom provoked by the White House and amplified in their own way by information monopolies will be the sure trigger for internal destabilization and the justification for 'humanitarian intervention'."
The reality of the street versus the official narrative
However, behind the belligerent terminology of "unconventional war" lies a palpable fear: the recurrence of spontaneous social outbursts like those that occurred in July 2021.
By attributing any hint of protest to an external conspiracy, the state discourse seeks to undermine the legitimacy and spontaneity of the citizens' demands, who daily endure the decline of the most basic public services.
The text from Granma indirectly lists the seriousness of the situation by admitting that its adversaries are "hopeful that the blackouts, the lack of fuel, water shortages, and the deficiencies in food, medicine, transportation, and other impacts on basic services for the population will fill the cup of resistance."
However, instead of proposing deep economic reforms or structural solutions to these shortcomings, the official narrative prefers to categorize any citizen demand under a criminal label, asserting that it incites the population "to disorder and to challenge the social peace and security of our people."
The discrediting of dissent and diplomacy
The onslaught is not limited to correspondents in Havana; it also targets civil activists and opposition figures who gain visibility on international stages.
For the regime, the denunciation of the deterioration of human and economic rights in Cuba before multilateral organizations is interpreted as a financed betrayal.
The article chastises these actors, accusing them of being “apathetic, fortune hunters, constantly on international tours with all expenses paid by taxpayer funds diverted by the architects of the destructive plan against Cuba”, whose only objective would be -according to the state-run media- to deliver their message to the UN or the European Parliament.
In the end, the strategy of blaming the messenger reveals the increasing difficulty of the Cuban government to control the flow of information in the digital age.
By pointing fingers at international agencies and labeling popular frustration as "subversion," Havana is attempting to shield its administration from criticism, a rhetorical strategy that is becoming increasingly worn out in the face of the harsh and unavoidable reality that millions of Cubans face daily.
Related videos:
Filed under: