Pedro Jorge Velázquez, a Cuban communicator famously known as "El Necio" and a long-time advocate for the regime, has returned to social media after a prolonged hiatus. In a recent post, he inadvertently highlighted the very crisis that millions of Cubans have been voicing for years, a crisis he once helped to downplay.
His revelation was couched in reflections about his profession. Velázquez explained that his break was due to "how radically difficult living in Cuba has become—something well-known to anyone experiencing it daily, where basic necessities like having water in the bathroom, a cold refrigerator, and cool nights have now become PROBLEMS, requiring personal effort that no one was accustomed to."
The same man who traveled to Moscow, penned "poems" to Fidel Castro from Russia, and claimed there was admiration for Putin following the dispatch of Cuban troops, now finds himself searching for water and visiting a friend’s house to find ice.
"I walk outside to fetch water and go to a friend’s house to make ice: those who know me understand that I’m not lying," he wrote, as if this were news exclusive to him and not a reality for the approximately one million Cubans reliant on tanker trucks for their water supply.
What Velázquez "discovered" during his break is quantified: power outages lasting between 20 and over 40 consecutive hours, 43.3% of households receiving water every three days or less, and 461 out of 651 essential medications out of stock in state pharmacies since 2024.
Even Velázquez admits candidly: "We are living through a severe humanitarian crisis. People suffer and struggle to survive, they protest, they bang pots, and they get angry; yet, people also push forward with courage and resolve..."
However, the propagandist in him remains. His message fails to acknowledge the Cuban government's role in this crisis. Instead, it blames "those who forecast with hundreds of sanctions and a strategy of suffocation over an innocent people, to murder this joy," a nod to the embargo while conveniently ignoring six decades of dictatorship as the structural cause of the disaster.
A gem from his post is his announcement of independence: "I distance myself from any objective to fulfill, any directive, and any attempt to silence my voice." This statement echoes the time in February 2026 when the U.S. imposed visa restrictions on him for allegedly participating in harassment campaigns against American diplomats in Cuba.
His rhetorical question also raised eyebrows: "What is life like in Cuba in 2026? Some still believe that question can only be answered with a picture of a collapsing building, or the nearly eternal blackout, or the massive street garbage dumps, or the slogan/hashtag of the moment that was instructed, or with a new SOS Cuba launched by the swarm of bots [...] or with the latest promise that also went unfulfilled." Coming from someone who for years attacked those who described exactly that, the statement carries a unique irony.
In 2026, the UN issued a $94 million humanitarian appeal to aid nearly two million people on the island, with a funding shortfall exceeding $60 million as of last May: this is the reality the communicator "uncovered" during his break, the same one he helped to conceal for years from his privileged platforms.
Understanding the Complexities of Cuba's Humanitarian Crisis
What prompted Pedro Jorge Velázquez's return to social media?
Velázquez returned to social media to share reflections about the increasing difficulties of daily life in Cuba, acknowledging the significant challenges that many Cubans face.
How has Velázquez's perspective on Cuba's crisis changed?
Initially minimizing the crisis, Velázquez now admits to the harsh realities of living in Cuba, such as water shortages and extended power outages, which he previously downplayed.
What are some of the hardships faced by Cubans according to Velázquez?
Velázquez describes basic necessities, like access to water and electricity, as significant challenges, alongside a lack of essential medications and food.