Cuban Government Launches Aggressive Campaign Against Independent Media

In recent days, the Cuban government has initiated one of its most intense smear and harassment campaigns against independent journalists and media outlets. This move appears to be an effort to criminalize free journalism and reinforce an atmosphere of fear and censorship.

The attack, orchestrated by the state's propaganda machine, involves publications in Cubadebate, Granma, and the TV program Razones de Cuba, hosted by spokesperson Humberto López. Additionally, coordinated messages on social media are being amplified by regime-aligned accounts and public officials.

The strategy follows a consistent pattern: labeling independent media as "mercenaries," "media terrorists," or "tools of the international far-right." These accusations are used to justify potential criminal charges, extraditions, and extraterritorial sanctions against journalists currently working outside Cuba.

The Smear Machinery in Action

This propaganda assault began with an article published on November 26 by the so-called Media Observatory of Cubadebate, titled "X-Ray of the Far-Right Accounts Operating Against Cuba on X." The piece, framed as a "technical analysis," was actually the launchpad for a propaganda operation aimed at criminalizing independent journalism and critical voices in exile. The Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, echoed this narrative on X (formerly Twitter).

The article claimed to have "identified" thirty accounts on X supposedly "leading hate campaigns against Cuba" and part of an "international far-right cognitive war." These accounts, the text noted, are based outside the island—specifically in the United States, Europe, and Latin America—implying the existence of a "foreign political operation."

Following this, the Communist Party's media apparatus activated a unified rhetoric combining technical jargon, conspiracy theories, and old ideological labels. Rodríguez Parrilla amplified this message with a tweet that closely mirrored the original text, stating that "hatred against Cuba is neither spontaneous nor civic, but an organized political operation of the international far-right."

The Role of Razones de Cuba in Public Targeting

The TV show Razones de Cuba, linked to State Security and hosted by Humberto López, published personal profiles of 18 alleged "executives" of the media outlet elTOQUE, including photos, personal data, and baseless accusations. These individuals were described as "mercenaries" involved in "criminal activities" under the label of "enemy platform against Cuba."

The message was echoed by Cubadebate, Granma, and Prensa Latina, as well as by numerous social media profiles, many of which exhibit evident institutional coordination, celebrating this as a "legitimate and necessary action of the Cuban state."

The objective is clear: to create a digital lynching atmosphere, justify future reprisals, and instill fear among journalists both inside and outside the country.

elTOQUE: A Warning to All Journalists

Although elTOQUE is the primary target of this new wave, the strategy extends beyond a single outlet. This persecution is merely the tip of the iceberg in a state policy designed to silence all critical voices.

Aggravated by the publication of the Informal Market Representative Rate (TRMi)—which reflects the real devaluation of the Cuban peso, the failure of economic and monetary "ordering," and the effects of partial dollarization—the campaign against this digital media poses a direct threat to all independent Cuban press. Since September 2024, several contributors have reported interrogations, threats, and psychological torture from State Security.

Recent broadcasts of Humberto López's program featured manipulated clips of these statements, accusing its director, José Jasán Nieves, of "currency trafficking" and "economic terrorism," a charge nonexistent in Cuban law.

Beyond this case, the regime's message is unequivocal: no journalist is safe. Publishing lists with names, photos, and personal addresses sets a dangerous precedent in the public criminalization of journalism, reviving the methods of political persecution used during the Black Spring of 2003, when 27 journalists were imprisoned under charges of "mercenarism."

Censorship and Propaganda: A Digital Black Spring

This new offensive avoids courts for now, opting instead for media lynchings. Verdicts are not delivered in courtrooms but on TV screens, official portals, and controlled social media networks. The totalitarian Cuban state, unable to justify its poverty and inequality, seeks scapegoats: journalists, activists, economists, and any voice that diverges from the official narrative.

Media outlets like elTOQUE, CiberCuba, Cubanet, and Diario de Cuba are framed as "destabilization tools," while the true source of chaos—the regime's policies and military control of the economy—remains unquestioned. Labels like "cognitive war," "media terrorism," or "international far-right" aim to replace public debate with fear. These are hollow concepts dressed in technical garb, used to legitimize repression and give a veneer of legality to ideological persecution.

CiberCuba's Stand: Journalism is Not a Crime

In response to direct mentions in this campaign, CiberCuba categorically rejected accusations of "mercenarism" or "cognitive warfare" from Cubadebate, Razones de Cuba, and Foreign Minister Rodríguez Parrilla. This rhetoric is nothing new; it's the same one the regime has used for six decades to discredit those who report what it seeks to hide.

The real enemies of truth are not in independent media, but in those who imprison, exile, and censor dissenters; in those who indoctrinate children, control the internet, and keep the population impoverished while the elites enjoy GAESA's privileges.

Fascism does not only disguise itself as the far-right; it also wears the cloak of communism when it represses, censors, and denies freedoms. "Those who claim to be communists, but act like fascists, are the ones governing in Cuba," this media outlet retorted on its social media this week.

"Denouncing repression, hunger, and inequality is not far-right; it is resistance against dictatorship and censorship."

In this regard, CiberCuba reaffirmed its commitment to truth and the Cuban people's right to free expression, as well as its determination to continue reporting on what the regime attempts to hide: widespread poverty, digital censorship, the forced exile of journalists and artists, and the moral degradation of a system that confuses patriotism with submission.

Independent journalism is not a crime. It is a public service. And if the regime needs to fabricate enemies to justify its failure, let it be known that each lie only confirms what they try to deny: that the truth remains alive and cannot be imprisoned.