A young Cuban residing in Brazil recorded a video on TikTok aimed at Cuban influencers and content creators arriving in the South American country, urging them to stop sharing details of the migration routes they use to cross. The clip, spontaneous and with no significant production pretensions, sparked a wave of reactions that turned it into a conversation topic within the Cuban diaspora community.
The author of the video, identified on TikTok as @alfredocastellanosjr_, makes it clear from the outset that he has nothing against his compatriots leaving Cuba. Quite the opposite. "I’m thrilled that they leave the dictatorship and the disgusting government of us Cubans," he says. The problem, he explains, is another: by publicly documenting every step of the journey, creators are jeopardizing the routes that still thousands of families need.
"Man, you don't have to publish how you choose because in the future, the police, people, the government will see that and will cut off the routes," he warns in the video.
The message directly addresses a phenomenon that has grown alongside the exodus: that of Cubans documenting their journey in real time to gain followers and, in some cases, monetizing that content. Several commentators have stated it plainly: "It's the reality; the thing is, it's content that attracts views, and that's why they do it... they don't care about those who come after them; they simply think about going viral and monetizing."
"They did the same thing with the crossing through Nicaragua, and in the end, they ended up eliminating the visa-free travel," wrote a user in a comment that received 48 reactions.
The route that thousands of Cubans currently take to reach Brazil has reached record numbers in 2026. More than 13,000 Cubans applied for asylum in Brazil just in the first half of the year, and the Brazilian police rescued 189 Cuban migrants in a single week at the border with Guyana. In July, the authorities launched an operation against networks of irregular migration that were operating in that same area.
Not everyone in the comments is optimistic about the impact of the call. A Cuban who has been in Brazil for four years acknowledged that he had already made the same observation before: "It's pointless, everything remains the same, but on Facebook, everywhere, it's all in vain." Another pointed out that it’s not just migrants who expose the routes: "Agencies also publish, so they mark themselves as well."
Even so, the majority applauded the gesture. "Finally someone says it, my God, that affects everyone who wants to leave," wrote one user. Another announced she would share the video on her social media. And someone summed up the whole matter with a phrase that eventually became the title of the conversation: "Hehe, throwing dirt on oneself."
Alfredo closed his video with a tone that blends worry with affection: “Please, do not post how you travel to the places you go, because that will cause problems in the future.”
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