The Cuban actor Armando Tomey openly defended freedom of expression again and sent a message this Sunday to those who still live without it: “Those who do not know it, fight for it”, he stated while responding to the criticisms and insults he receives for his constant statements against the Cuban regime.
In a reel published on Facebook, Tomey began by ironically addressing the “invisible army of Miguel Díaz-Canel” and the “dear clarias,” before once again rejecting the accusations that he receives money for his political opinions.
"I'm not paid to speak badly about communism; I have no need for that," assured the artist, who explained that he considers himself a fulfilled man, enjoys his family, travels, and continues working as an actor in Florida.
Tomey stated that her criticisms stem from her own convictions and used a particularly blunt language to assert her right to express herself against both brothers Fidel and Raúl Castro, as well as the current U.S. president, Donald Trump.
"If I have the desire to shit on Fidel's mother, I shit on Fidel's mother and Raul's too, (...) and I shit on Donald Trump's mother as well," he emphasized.
"Yes, they are murderous dictators," he said about Fidel and Raúl Castro, before emphasizing that he can also verbally attack Trump if he wants to because "I live in a free country."
The actor then made that comparison the focus of his message.
“Do you know what freedom is? Freedom is very beautiful. So, those who do not know it, fight for it, and those who have it, do not demean it, defend it,” they expressed.
Tomey also made it clear that disparagement on social media will not change his stance: "I am not going to lose sleep over this, and I will continue to be the same person, and whenever I feel like speaking out against the Cuban dictatorship, I will keep saying it," he stated.
Part of his response was also directed at those who question his quality as an actor.
Tomey recalled that he worked for about 30 years in Cuban television, participating in dramas, series, and other programs, and he questioned why he received acting awards and leading roles if, as some of his detractors claim, he was a poor performer.
His new statements come just days after he publicly praised Luis Alberto García for maintaining his criticisms from within Cuba.
During the premiere of the second season of Maldita Raíz in Miami, Tomey contrasted the freedom with which he can express himself from the United States with the risks faced by artists who challenge the authorities by staying on the island.
In that same intervention, he recalled that years ago he ended up detained after shouting "Down with Fidel!" at the Comodoro hotel in Havana.
He reported that he was taken to a cell and later released, something he attributed to his status as a well-known actor on Cuban television.
The defense of freedom has also been present in other recent messages.
In early August, Tomey
"The people of Cuba have to do something for themselves," he suggested then.
Days earlier, he had coined the term “irreversible neurocastrism” to describe the pain that, according to him, many emigrants feel when reflecting on the situation in Cuba.
In that message, he described the island as a "giant prison" and urged Díaz-Canel to allow Cubans to decide their own destiny.
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