The Cuban pastor Bárbaro Abel Marrero responded on Thursday to the accusations spread by the profile El Necio, which pointed to the Western Baptist Convention of Cuba as one of the main venues used by the CIA to recruit individuals on the island.
Marrero, who is the president of the Western Cuba Baptist Convention and rector of the Baptist Theological Seminary of Havana, refuted those claims in a .
"Now El Necio claims, as a supposedly proven fact, that the Western Baptist Convention is the main Cuban evangelical church where the CIA has recruited individuals as its agents," wrote Marrero.
The response came after El Necio claimed on social media that the CIA had increased its presence in Cuba during 2026 and that this strategy was being carried out "as a priority" through evangelical churches.
In its post, the profile specifically mentioned the Western Baptist Convention and claimed, without providing evidence in the message, that people were being recruited "willing to surrender the word of God to the interests of Trump and Marco Rubio."
Marrero described the accusation as serious and compared it to historical episodes of persecution against Christians.
"This serious accusation reminds us of the slander by Emperor Nero in the 1st century AD, when he claimed that Christians had set fire to Rome to initiate a brutal persecution against them," he stated.
The pastor also recalled an incident that took place in Cuba in 1965, when several Baptist ministers were imprisoned under accusations that he claimed were not supported by evidence.
«For the Baptists of western Cuba, in particular, it is a kind of déjà vu, as we cannot forget that in 1965 a group of our pastors were imprisoned, without any evidence, under a similar accusation,» he remarked.
Marrero's reaction was also reported by , which described the accusations against the designation as unfounded and emphasized the fear within the evangelical community that such allegations could be used to discredit or pressure churches.
The publication also recalled the history of tensions between the Cuban state and various religious communities, as well as the imprisonment of Baptist pastors during the 1960s.
Marrero concluded his message by referencing the biblical passage Matthew 5:11: "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me."
The pastor currently holds one of the main responsibilities within the Western Baptist denomination of Cuba. In addition to presiding over the Convention, he leads the Baptist Theological Seminary of Havana, where he also serves as a professor.
The accusation against the Western Baptist Convention comes at a time of increasing tension between various evangelical churches and the Cuban authorities.
In March, the organization led by Marrero urged its congregations not to use temples as platforms for political activism, although it publicly acknowledged the seriousness of the Cuban crisis, the injustices, social deterioration, and the right of believers to participate individually in public life.
Later, Mike Hammer met with the Alliance of Evangelical Churches of Cuba, which includes, among other denominations, the Western and Eastern Baptist Conventions, the Methodist Church, and the Assemblies of God.
The Western Baptist Convention once again took to the public space at the end of September when it expressed its support for Anna Bensi and her mother, Caridad Silvente, prior to the trial against both.
The organization called for respect for due process, freedom of expression, and religious freedom, stating: "We cannot, we do not want to, and we will not leave them alone."
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