Cuban Citizens React to Military Leadership with Criticism: "All These Overweight Officials and a Malnourished Population"

A photograph depicting senior Cuban military officials, including Miguel Díaz-Canel and Esteban Lazo, during an official meeting, sparked widespread criticism and ridicule on Facebook. The image was shared by the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces with the message, "Defending the socialist fatherland is a duty for all Cubans."

Accompanied by the hashtag #FARCuba and the quote, "Defending the nation is the safest way to preserve peace," the post ignited a flood of comments highlighting a stark contrast: the well-fed appearance of the officials and the ongoing hunger crisis afflicting the Cuban populace became the focal point of widespread indignation.

"All these overweight officials and the people are starving, what a disgrace," remarked one user, capturing the prevailing sentiment of the post.

Additional comments echoed this sentiment. "Keep defending so the leaders can get fatter, send their children to study abroad, buy mansions in other countries, and run businesses, while your children and parents die of hunger, suffer from heat at night, and walk everywhere all year," commented another user.

Many found irony in the photograph. "They'll suffocate trying to hold their bellies in so they don't show in the picture," noted one comment. Another was more direct: "And maintain hunger, misery, a lack of medicines and electricity, water shortages, and trash on every corner, while keeping the top leaders of this misgovernment well-fed and living like millionaires without lifting a finger, in (stolen) mansions with all the amenities and air conditioning. That's what they want, for the people to defend."

Numerous users questioned the legitimacy of the regime's call after 67 years under the same system. "They've had 67 years to fix it, and all they've done is enrich themselves at the expense of the people's suffering," summarized one commenter. Another added, "They had 67 years with the power to move forward, backward, or sideways, and they never solved the problem; instead, Cuba has more misery and hunger every day."

Questioning the Regime's Propaganda

Some rejected the regime's equation of homeland with socialism. "No, no, no, the homeland is the homeland. It's not socialism or communism. The homeland has nothing to do with a system invented by a German and developed by Russians," wrote one user. Another was more blunt: "Duty is not obligation. As a Cuban, I defend what I believe in, not what a government directive dictates. People want a change of system, ideology, everything in general."

The post aligns with the regime's ongoing militaristic rhetoric throughout 2026, officially declared as the "Year of Preparation for Defense." In April, the Supreme People's Court warned that "treason against the homeland is the gravest of crimes," subject to "the most severe penalties," a move analysts and dissidents see as a tool for social coercion.

This aggressive discourse clashes with a stark reality: 96.91% of Cubans lack adequate access to food, 33.9% of households reported someone going to bed hungry in the last 30 days, and five provinces face critical levels of food insecurity. Deaths from malnutrition rose by 74% between 2022 and 2023, according to the National Office of Statistics and Information.

"Bunch of criminals, how long will these parasites keep ruling, destroying their own people," concluded another comment, encapsulating the heated backlash triggered by the MINFAR post.