The former second vice president of the Government of Spain and founder of Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, published a video on social media this Wednesday in which he stated that he feels "immensely honored" to be included in the U.S. Department of State report titled "Cuba: the capital of 21st century communism."
What Iglesias omitted in his triumphant account is that the document of about 100 pages, published this July 20, mentions him only once, on page 48, within a collective list of participants in an international convoy, without dedicating any specific analysis to him or highlighting him as a priority target.
In the video, shared via Facebook, Iglesias constructed a philosophical-political argument to justify his satisfaction: "I have said many times that what you are in politics is not defined by a badge, by a sticker, or by the t-shirt you wear." He adds: "If the enemy doesn't even have you located, perhaps you are not what you think you are."
The conclusion drawn from his appearance in the report is unequivocal: “To appear in a document against Cuba from the U.S. government alongside activists, journalists, and peers from around the world as a threat to the national security of the United States for defending the Cuban people is an immense honor for me and a reminder that we are on the right side even if it is the most difficult side.”
However, the reality of the report is significantly more modest than what its discourse suggests. The document refers to him as "former second vice president of the Government of Spain" on page 48, grouped with a dozen figures from the international left who participated in the so-called Convoy Nuestra América in March 2026.
In that same paragraph, the streamer Hasan Piker, the founder of the Amazon Labor Union Christian Smalls, a delegation from the Democratic Socialists of America, the former British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, several Members of the European Parliament, and Isra Hirsi, daughter of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, are mentioned.
The report describes that convoy as "an important meeting point for the international left," which mobilized 120 organizations from 33 countries to transport goods to Cuba in defiance of U.S. sanctions. In that context, Iglesias is just one among a list of names mentioned in passing.
During his stay in Havana, the political scientist and former leader of Podemos interviewed Miguel Díaz-Canel for Canal Red, an interview that was actively promoted by the Communist Party of Cuba itself.
After meeting with representatives of the regime, Iglesias downplayed the crisis on the island, stating that the situation was "difficult, but not as it's being presented from the outside." These comments sparked protests by Cuban exiles outside the Podemos headquarters in Madrid and criticism from Cubans both inside and outside the island, who interpreted his words as political support for the regime.
In May 2026, Iglesias went further and published a message on X blaming the U.S. embargo as the main cause of suffering in Cuba, stating that "decency" requires defending both the Cuban people and their government, which once again provoked the rejection of many Cubans.
The Cuban regime, for its part, rejected the report from the State Department: Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez described it this Wednesday as a "slanderous pamphlet," while Díaz-Canel accused Trump and Rubio of practicing a transnational "neo-McCarthyism."
Iglesias, in his video, concluded with a phrase that summarizes his stance: "If being a member of Podemos and directing Canal Red, if defending Cuban sovereignty makes me deserving of being on the list of a criminal government like that of Donald Trump, I can only say that I feel immensely honored."
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