The musician and officialist deputy Arnaldo Rodríguez Romero, known as "Talismán," announced his return to Cuba this Saturday through a post on his Facebook profile, in which he celebrated his return to the island with open arms—literally, according to the photograph that accompanied the message—wearing a Puma sports jacket with the Cuban flag.
"I'm already in Cuba!!! The greatest thing in life, returning to the homeland, to the largest of the Antilles, to the Cayman of the Caribbean," wrote the artist, without specifying from which country he was returning.
In the same text, Arnaldo acknowledged the material shortcomings of the island, but he put them into perspective: "Back on the Island where not everything material that I might need is available. But it is indeed the place where everything essential for me to feel happy exists."
The post quickly garnered a flood of critical comments that directly pointed out the contradiction between that message and the reality faced by ordinary Cubans.
"Sure, they definitely have the luxury of coming and going whenever they please. It's easy to love your country like that," quipped a user, referring to the travel privileges enjoyed by figures aligned with the regime, which the majority of Cubans do not have.
Another internet user reminded him of his previous statements in defense of the government: "You asked so much for the little light not to go out that now you've been caught in eternal blackouts, enjoy them."
A third comment was particularly striking: "One of the highlights is enjoying time in bars with Fidel Castro's grandchildren. No one has mentioned it, I can attest to that."
The return of Arnaldo comes in the context of a severe energy and economic crisis in Cuba, with prolonged blackouts punishing the population. The irony was not lost: the same musician who in March 2026 called the protesters of Morón who were demonstrating against the blackouts and the economic crisis "antisocials" and "riffraff," is now celebrating his return to that same island as if it were paradise.
Arnaldo Rodríguez is a deputy of the National Assembly of People's Power for Morón, Ciego de Ávila, since 2023, despite residing in Havana. His history of alignment with the regime includes closing the March of the Combatant People with a concert on the Malecón in Havana in December 2024, an event that gathered only about a hundred people, and attacking independent Cuban media such as El Toque in November 2025.
After referring to the protesters in Morón as "chusma," Arnaldo faced renewed criticism for his stance on the repression that followed those protests, during which at least five people were detained.
For its critics, the phrase "where everything essential to feel happy exists" is hard to swallow when it comes from someone who can travel freely abroad while millions of Cubans survive without electricity, food, and the ability to come and go as they please.
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