A photograph of high-ranking Cuban military officials sitting in an official meeting, including Miguel Díaz-Canel and Esteban Lazo, sparked criticism and mockery on Facebook after being published by the Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces with the message “The defense of the socialist homeland is a duty of all Cubans.”
The image, accompanied by the hashtag #FARCuba and the quote "The defense of the nation is the safest way to preserve peace," ignited the comments section with a reaction that the regime itself hardly anticipated: the contrast between the appearance of the uniformed personnel and the hunger experienced by the Cuban population became the focal point of outrage.
"All these fat guys and the malnourished people, what a disgrace," wrote a user, capturing the dominant sentiment in the post.
Other comments echoed the same sentiment. "Defend enough so that the leaders continue to grow fatter, send their children to study abroad, buy mansions in other countries, and have businesses, while your children and parents die of hunger, suffer from the heat at night, and walk on foot all year round," wrote another internet user.
The irony regarding the figures in the photograph was evident. "They're going to suffocate by sucking in their stomachs to avoid being seen in the picture," noted one comment. Another pointed out directly: "And to maintain the hunger, the misery, the lack of medicine and electricity, the water shortages, and the garbage piling up on every corner, while of course, the high-ranking officials of this misgovernment also remain fat and rosy, living a millionaire's life without lifting a finger, in large (stolen) mansions with all the comforts and air conditioning all the time. That's what they want the people to defend."
Several users questioned the legitimacy of the call after 67 years of managing the same system. "They have been solving it for 67 years and all they have done is enrich themselves at the expense of the people's suffering," one summarized. Another added: "They had 67 years there with the authority and power to move things forward, back, or sideways, and they never managed to solve the problem; on the contrary, every day Cuba has more and more poverty and more hunger."
There were also those who rejected the equation between homeland and socialism that the regime imposes in its propaganda. “No, no, no, the homeland is homeland. It’s not socialism or communism. The homeland has nothing to do with a system invented by a German and developed by some Russians,” wrote an internet user. Another was more direct: “Duty is not obligation. As a Cuban, I defend what I believe, not what a government leadership says. People want a change in the system, in ideology, in everything in general.”
The publication falls within the escalating militaristic rhetoric that the regime has maintained throughout 2026, a year officially declared as the "Year of Preparation for Defense." In April, the People's Supreme Tribunal warned that "betrayal of the homeland is the gravest of crimes," subject to "the harshest penalties," in an action that analysts and opponents have described as a tool for social coercion.
That warlike rhetoric clashes with a documented reality: 96.91% of Cubans lack adequate access to food, 33.9% of households report that a member went to bed hungry in the past 30 days, and five provinces are at critical levels of food insecurity. Deaths from malnutrition increased by 74% between 2022 and 2023, according to the National Office of Statistics and Information.
"A gang of criminals, how long will these parasites continue to govern, decimating their own people," concluded another comment, in a phrase that summarizes the level of rejection sparked by the MINFAR announcement.
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