A Cuban resident in Tenerife, identified as Estela Rodríguez Jiménez, issued an urgent warning on Facebook after assisting a young compatriot who was lured by a human trafficking network with the promise of a job in Spain as a dancer.
In two videos posted on his profile, Rodríguez recounts how the young woman left Cuba with a tourist visa, traveled through Italy, and arrived in Tenerife deceived by a man with a fake profile who promised her a job.
A follower of Rodríguez asked the young woman to get in touch with her for help. The content creator took her to social services and to a specialized organization that deals with these sensitive issues in her autonomous community.
"Not all Cubans in these countries are there to help. Be very, very careful with the people who are offering you jobs to leave Cuba, jobs in dancing and all those lies. They are trafficking young people for prostitution and organ trafficking," Rodríguez warned in one of his videos.
The young woman, described as a thin and frightened girl, will receive housing, employment, documentation, and medical care through the municipal shelter and an organization specializing in the fight against trafficking, as reported.
In his videos, he detailed the mechanism used by these networks: they target women desperate to leave Cuba with promises of work or marriage, transport them abroad, and force them into prostitution.
The Cuban woman did not make direct reports because she fears for her safety and that of the young woman she helped: "I am also risking my life because we know what is behind these cases," she said.
Regarding the trafficking in Cuba, she stated: "They are lured with tales and lies about being offered jobs, promises of marriage, and help, only to be forced into prostitution. Once in Europe, they are mistreated and even go missing."
Victims are isolated from their families through a calculated deception, as explained by the content creator. "They force them to tell their relatives that they can't send money for now because they have to work. The family believes they are fine, but they are in prostitution."
Rodríguez also highlighted a worrying detail: allegedly, the man involved in the case was planning to travel to Cuba in the coming days to recruit more young people in Holguín.
Since this case came to light, a flyer has been circulating on social media announcing an "Open Casting in Cuba" seeking dancers for projects in Menorca, Spain, with a Cuban WhatsApp number. The ad was identified as false by the group Facebook ReVoLiCo BaYaMo GrAnMa.
A follower of Rodríguez thanked him for the warning: "I was offered $40,000, I thank God for having published that, otherwise I would have fallen for it because I was already about to go to that place."
Rodríguez also warned that social media is an active tool for attracting Cuban youth. "You post photos on Facebook, posts on your profiles dancing, and they are targeting you."
The case of the young Cuban woman occurs in a context of repeated police operations against trafficking networks in Tenerife. In January of this year, the National Police rescued 27 women, some of whom were minors, who were being exploited in four clubs in the southern part of the Spanish island, and arrested 14 suspects.
The Cuban concluded her message with a reflection aimed at mothers of young people who want to emigrate at any cost: "Take care of your girls. (...) Sometimes it's better to wait a little during blackouts and difficult situations. God must provide a solution for Cuba, which is not losing your life."
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