Grandmaster Lázaro Bruzón published a message on Facebook in which he rejects the advice of those who ask him to remain silent about Cuba and reaffirms his commitment to public denouncement against the dictatorship.
"I often receive messages and advice recommending that I stay silent. That I shouldn't get involved, that I won't resolve anything, that it's for nothing. If I had followed those voices, I would have fallen silent a long time ago. But today, while I am farther away from many people, I feel much better," wrote the chess player from Holguín, who has been residing in Missouri since July 2018 and has been competing under the American flag since 2020.
The core of the text is an ethical defense of denunciation over any ideological affinity. Bruzón argues that imprisoning young people for posting a video online, for highlighting the conditions in which they live, or for singing songs that portray social reality does not equate to defending an ideology: "You are justifying cruelty. And anyone who justifies cruelty, who applauds the punishment of the innocent to protect a dogma, is simply a MISERABLE (sic)."
The chess player also pointed to a collective wound: "I would never applaud something unjust or poorly done just to protect my ideological beliefs. And therein lies much of our problem as a nation: this habit of relativizing, in a dehumanizing way, so much crime and so much mistreatment."
The post comes days after Bruzón described Cuba as a "dictatorship without alternation" with "the worst in the economy" and "the worst in social order," and weeks after he reported that his mother was harassed in a store in Las Tunas by individuals who held her responsible for her son's political views.
The chess player's allegations are supported by documentation. According to Prisoners Defenders, Cuba closed August 2026 with 1,339 political prisoners —a record number—. In Holguín, Bruzón's home province, the founders of the audiovisual project El4tico were arrested on February 6; the Prosecutor's Office charges them with "propaganda against the constitutional order" and "incitement to commit a crime," and it has been reported that they would be seeking prison sentences of eight and ten years.
Several artists critical of the Cuban government remain imprisoned or have been detained. The rapper Maykel Castillo Pérez, known as «Maykel Osorbo», is serving a nine-year prison sentence imposed in June 2022, and Fernando Almenares Rivera, «Nando OBDC», received a five-year sentence for "propaganda against the constitutional order."
Throughout 2026, Bruzón—who, before emigrating, was a member of the Union of Young Communists and a deputy of the People's Power Assembly in Las Tunas—has consistently escalated his critical statements. In February, he accused the regime of having "sunk" the country since 1959; in April, he labeled its leaders as "sick with power"; and in July, upon completing eight years in the United States, he described that country as "the model of many of the things I desire for a future Cuba".
The message from this Saturday concludes with an unambiguous statement of principles: “Personally, I will denounce the crimes of a dictatorship until the end. I am only interested in being true to myself, to my conscience, and above all, to be the best example for my children. Let them judge me…” It finishes with two direct phrases: “Down with the dictatorship. Freedom for all political prisoners.”
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