Miguel Díaz-Canel published a message on X and Facebook this Wednesday to celebrate Cuba's sports results in the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, but the phrase with which he opened the text sparked a wave of citizen responses that quickly brought him into the spotlight.
"In the midst of the complexities we are experiencing, we continue to be grateful for the performance of our athletes in the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo," wrote the Cuban leader, using the euphemism "complexities" to refer to a crisis that includes prolonged power outages, food shortages, and the widespread deterioration of basic services.
The expression, far from going unnoticed, was perceived by many Cubans as a deliberate minimization of the seriousness of what the population is experiencing on the Island.
In the same message, Díaz-Canel highlighted three gold medals in athletics: "the confidence of the flag bearer Leyanis in triple jump, the intelligence of Anisleidis in the 5,000 meters, and the authority of the young Hodelín in long jump," in addition to the performance of the wrestlers and the hockey teams, with special mention of the goalkeeper of the women's team, who saved four penalty shots in the final.
However, the sporting context also has uncomfortable aspects for the regime: Cuba finished third in the medal table with 31 golds, 26 silvers, and 35 bronzes, well short of the official target of at least 67 golds, and behind Mexico and Colombia.
It was, moreover, the first time in history that Cuba finished outside the top two spots in the Central American and Caribbean Games.
The use of the term "complexities" is not new in Díaz-Canel's discourse. Just days before, on July 30, he had stated: "the road is difficult, the situation is complex, but the will to overcome is unbreakable."
The ruler's coverage of these games had already generated controversy previously: rowers Leah Daniela Almeida and Ana Laura Jiménez, who won Cuba's first bronze medal of the event on July 25 in the lightweight women's double sculls, were overlooked in his posts, coinciding with one of them's defection from the delegation.
That selective omission, combined with the euphemism used by the leader to describe the crisis, fueled the reactions of Cubans who pointed out the gap between the official language and the daily reality of those living on the Island.
The tweet garnered only 15 comments, many of them critical, compared to the 336 "likes" recorded on the platform.
This is not the first time a statement by Díaz-Canel regarding the country's "complexities" has become a target of public outrage: for millions of Cubans who face daily electricity outages of over 12 hours, endless lines, and empty shelves, the word feels as insufficient as the government that utters it.
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