After having failed for decades in its efforts to destroy the Revolution, the northern neighbor is resorting to new methods in its obsessive fixation on changing the course that Cuba sovereignly chose long ago.

Nonetheless, as President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez recently commented on his Twitter account, this is “an old imported script with new actors.”

The television program referred to an article published on the Cubadebate website by the young media analyst Javier Gómez Sánchez, under the title “The ideologues of the soft coup: Open Society in Cuba and the Counterrevolutionary Articulation.”

The text points out, “The aggressiveness shown during the Donald Trump administration’s term in office, and the positioning of a discourse against the Revolution, by intentionally repulsive media actors, were part of the plan and not an accident apart. A counterrevolution that comes across as irrational and disgusting is being promoted, in contrast to which the neo-counterrevolution can be presented as an alternative, and seen by Cubans as something preferable.”

Within this worn out counterrevolution, with no agenda of its own, violent and without social roots, characters such as Berta Soler and José Daniel Ferrer are known actors. The former is an individual with a long history of provocations backed by money from the Cuban American National Foundation in Florida. The television program notes that the lack of effectiveness of her efforts has taken its toll, and the funding she receives has been reduced. She has even been accused of using the money to cover personal expenses and not to wage an alleged “Cuban cause.”

Ferrer could be defined as a common criminal, with a long police record, promoter of counter-revolutionary actions, a supposed leader fabricated to attract international recognition. The Cuban people will surely remember a video, broadcast some time ago, showing him repeatedly banging his own head on a table, to later accuse an Interior Ministry officer of assaulting him.

In the same vein, other characters associated with this marginal, violent section of the counterrevolution include such figures as Luis Manuel Otero, who has devoted himself to creating grotesque pseudo-artistic works, desecrating revolutionary values and patriotic symbols, bordering again and again on illegality.

The Cuban television news program reports that also among these small-time “actors” is Maykel Osorbo, who is constantly calling for violence, disrespect and disorder on social media, even advocating a U.S. invasion of Cuba.

Likewise, Denis Solis, whose aggressive and socially reprehensible conduct led to his conviction and imprisonment for contempt of authority, has positioned himself as the center of efforts to mobilize sentiment against supposed repression in the San Isidro farce.
Photo: Granma

Outside Cuba, the counterrevolution is managed by other individuals. During the Trump administration, their actions in the United States were carried out with the complicity, or at least silence, of authorities in that country. Yamila Betancourt, for example, is a promoter of terrorism in Cuba, openly paying for vandalism on the island, using social networks to call for crude, disrespectful acts.

Under the pseudonym of Ultrack, another representative of the counterrevolution, active on social media, seeks to transfer the aggressiveness of his language to the Cuban reality, that is, onto our streets.

Alexander Otaola initially attracted an audience and followers, addressing issues related to artists and show business, and then clearly defining his aggressive anti-Cuban position, inciting a social explosion on the island with disobedience and chaos.

Functioning simultaneously alongside these advocates of aggression against Cuba is another version of the counterrevolution, the article by Gómez notes. The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is sponsoring a new or neo counterrevolution that seeks to establish itself as the less repulsive alternative, to become the option accepted by to the people.

Among those functioning along these lines is Tania Bruguera, a person who via her symbolic artistic constructions seeks benefits and positioning, with some of her actions approaching illegality, including her organization of a provocation in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución.

On this same stage, Carlos Manuel Álvarez has appeared as director of the “independent” media outlet El Estornudo, who, on social networks, has orchestrated pretentious attacks the work of Cuban doctors abroad, as well as that of Che and Fidel.

Others linked to this supposedly blander counterrevolution are Omara Ruiz Urquiola, former professor at the Superior Institute of Design, a participant in the San Isidro farce who maintains relations with high ranking representatives of the U.S. government in Cuba; as well as journalist and former University of Havana professor, Elaine Díaz, currently living abroad, who has dedicated her efforts to recruiting young journalists and university students to poison their environments and thoughts.

Joining the list are Eliécer Ávila, a young Cuban living in the United States, who has declared on many occasions that he is committed to violence and the invasion of Cuba; and Ariel Ruiz Urquiola, active in the campaign to discredit Cuban doctors serving abroad on internationalist missions.

Also a part of this tendency is Rosa María Payá, representative of Miami’s right-wing anti-Cuba forces, who recently posted on her Twitter account: “First, for years I asked the Obama administration and then the Trump administration to put the Cuban regime back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism because it is the correct, the coherent, thing to do.”

To support the activity of these promoters of regime change in Cuba, a proliferation of media outlets has been developed, including Cibercuba, El Estornudo, Cubanet, El Toque and La Joven Cuba, among others.

“These are digital media created and sustained as part of a long-term operation implemented by the CIA in Cuba, to manufacture a press that, on the Internet, would generate political content deliberately toxic to the Revolution, under the façade of journalistic work,” states Gómez in his article.

Meanwhile, in the United States, organizations such as Usaid (U.S. Aid to International Development), the NED and the Open Society Foundation encourage the promotion of new counterrevolutionary leaders with contests and scholarships, as is the case with millionaire Yoani Sánchez, among others.

In other words, both the grotesque, pro-imperialist expression of the marginalized inside and outside Cuba, and the voices advancing a more elaborate discourse, are the same counterrevolution; some outdated, of less interest to their masters, and others more appropriate in new times, using an apparently more conciliatory tone, but with the same ultimate goal: overthrowing the Revolution.

(Taken from Granma)

It was a neighborhood of humble people, harassed by the presence of Yankee Marines who came ashore in search of fun and cheap sex. Once the butt of jokes, San Isidro now has 14 family doctors’ offices, a traditional medicine clinic, a veterinary clinic, three child care centers, a kindergarten and four schools.

I had the opportunity to interact with residents, during a neighborhood discussion organized by the local Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (cdr) about two years ago, a tribute to honor Comandante en Jefe, Fidel Castro Ruz.

We met, without a stage, no prepared speeches, beneath a kapok treein a park. I remember two comments made, one in which, on behalf of all present, a resident declared his unconditional support for the Revolution, based on his religious faith.
Otero, head of the grouplet, has a long record of provocations, including desecration of the Cuban flag. Photo: Postcuba

The other was that of an old man, who called on his fellow citizens to remember what that place was like before 1959 and how many of them, as children, knew of cases of women who were abused by the yankee Marines.

Personal stories of social transformation like these do not constitute important news for transnational media and virtual networks that these days have fixed their sights on this densely populated neighborhood.

ANOTHER ANTI-CUBAN SHOW

Daily life in this neighborhood has been altered by a small group of people – 14 in total, four of them members of the so-called San Isidro Movement – who have become the center of a new counter-revolutionary show, sponsored and supported by the U.S. government.

The show is very similar to those staged on other occasions by other mercenary groups and puppets in the service of the U.S. government. Let us not forget the notorious, ridiculous fake “avocado strike,” in which its promoter was caught enjoying a delicious menu.

Not all of the actors in the performance play the same role: Some say they are on a food and water deprivation strike, others say they are on a hunger strike, and several say they are “guaracheando,” as can be seen in live transmissions, a kind of reality show members of the “movement” post on social media, for the purpose of self-promotion which also serves to report on their “work” to those who finance them.
Food delivered to the house where the alleged hunger strike was underway. Photo: Granma

The group, for the moment, has two demands. The first is the release of Denis Solís González, presented as a young censored artist, who they allege went missing after being detained by the police.

Denis Solís is currently serving an eight-month prison sentence for criminal contempt of authorities. He has not appealed the verdict.

The Cuban Rap Agency, an internationally recognized cultural institution, exposed the crude argument that the manipulators use regarding their relationship with the art form: “The voice of a beginner without a consolidated body of work cannot be invoked as representative of our hip hop, much less when it is known that the interests he defends are part of an orchestrated subversive plan against the Cuban Revolution.”

The nature of the plot became apparent in short order, clarified by Solís himself, who, in a video broadcast on social media, admitted having ties with individuals who have financed violent acts against Cuba, as is the case of José Luis Fernández Figueras, accused by the Cuban justice system of being part of a terrorist group based in Miami, who promised to send Solís $200 if he complied with his instructions.

WHAT IS THE SO-CALLED SAN ISIDRO MOVEMENT?

The fabricated San Isidro Movement, the center of a media boom orchestrated by an articulated network of media at the service of U.S. interests, in no way represents the humble, hard-working, revolutionary neighborhood from which they have taken their name and which repudiates the presence of people who live off scandal, commit degrading acts and even manipulate minors to participate in their crude, provocative performances.

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who is identified as the leader of the group, has an extensive record of provocations, trained and supported by Mara Tekach, when she was in the chargé de affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Havana. Congressmen who have promoted the tightening of the genocidal blockade against the Cuban people are among the politicians he admires.

Evident in the reality shows they mount are the existential and cultural degradation of the group, as well as their ties to Miami terrorists who have carried out violent actions against our country.

In one of their live broadcasts, a member of the alleged Movement greeted terrorist William González Cabrera, who is responsible for financing attacks on facilities and establishments in Cuba, like those involving setting fires in a cafeteria, a barbershop and a neighborhood store. Another member of the group asked about actions to be carried out with Molotov cocktails.

While the script unfolded focusing on solidarity with Denis Solis, his “brothers” in the cause could be seen celebrating in a video posted on social media, showing an attitude that contrasted sharply with the talk of “martyrdom” they had promoted just hours earlier.

The second demand that they invented, as a pretext to gain popularity with their provocative efforts, is the elimination of the stores in freely convertible currency (MLC) a measure made necessary by the Trump administration’s intensification of economic persecution and the blockade, aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The same individuals who are making this demand are buying food imported from abroad in these stores through an online platform, regardless of the hunger and thirst strike they claim to support.

WHO IS PULLING THE STRINGS?

The new show, orchestrated from Washington and Miami, is part of plans for subversion against Cuba, and has precedents in other similar actions organized, executed and financed by that government with the goal of destroying the Revolution.

If we analyze the modus operandi of the so-called San Isidro Movement, being implemented are many of standard tactics used in the “soft coup” strategy outlined in the manual by U.S. political scientist Gene Sharp, with striking similarities to plans executed in the Ukrainian Maidán, Venezuela’s street barricade “guarimbas” and actions by groups of delinquents during the coup d’état against Evo Morales in Bolivia.

Easily observed is the tendency to recruit thugs and individuals of low moral standing who lend themselves to serve as agents of a foreign government, promoting chaos and feeding the narrative of violence and repression in Cuba, disseminated by a well financed and articulated network of digital and traditional media.

U.S. government officials have made no secret of their complicity with the events in Havana, a fact that contrasts with our government’s position of not interfering in the internal affairs of other countries.

Michael Kozak, acting undersecretary of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, a fervent promoter of the blockade and the end of remittances, has made several statements of support for the San Isidro Movement, as has Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, whose anti-Cuban record is well known to our people. Luis Almagro, secretary general of the discredited OAS, could not miss the opportunity to chime in and express his support for the latest anti-Cuban action.

U.S. officials, anti-Cuban Congress members and the OAS Secretary General are not interested in the effect on health that their irresponsible attitude could have on some of those involved. What they seek at all costs is to discredit the exemplary record of the Revolution, recently recognized by the election of Cuba as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, and garner support for the U.S. government’s justifications to maintain the genocidal blockade that affects our entire people.

This provocative action, responding to strings pulled in Washington and Miami, is intended to negate the rich history of the Revolution, which includes no precedent for giving into pressure from the empire, or a handful of posers. In January 1959, the Cuban people learned the value of independence, sovereignty and devotion to the full dignity of man. We are not willing to renounce these conquests that have cost so much glorious blood.

The Cuban government has no information about the individual involved, who was detained by local authorities at the scene and is in custody, the Ministry indicated.

The Cuban diplomatic mission in Washington D.C. has a protection and security system in place, to respond to any threat against personnel or facilities.

The Cuban government is awaiting news from U.S. authorities on the investigation, including the identity of the suspect and his motivations for the aggression, as well as other circumstances surrounding the event. The State Department is aware of the event.

It is the obligation of states to take all appropriate measures to protect the premises of diplomatic missions accredited in their country against any intrusion or damage and to avoid disturbing the peace of a mission or violating its dignity, the Ministry press release concludes.

According to several press agencies, the incident began around 2:00 am, outside the embassy in northwest Washington. The metropolitan police moved to the site after neighbors reported hearing gunshots, authorities stated.

Images of the site posted on social media show a group of police outside the building after the shots were fired and investigators searching a vehicle parked there. Agents from the Metropolitan Police and the U.S. Secret Service were investigating.

(Source: Cubadebate)

Yesterday, both countries held in Washington the fourth meeting dedicated to addressing issues of enforcement and compliance with the law, meeting in which the Cuban delegation urged the hostess to desist from the continued political manipulation of the issue of US officials.

According to the State Department press release on yesterday’s meeting, the parties ‘also discussed the health attacks against diplomatic personnel of the US embassy in Havana, including two recent cases.’

‘The US delegation reminded Cubans of their responsibility to protect officials from harm,’ it continued, in a language that is far from the spirit of a bilateral mechanism created to coordinate the fight against illicit crimes of concern to the world community, such as drug and human trafficking.

According to the statement from the Cuban side, issued as a result of the meeting, the alleged health cases served the White House as a pretext for the adoption of new unilateral measures that affect the functioning of the respective embassies, in particular, the provision of consular services on which hundreds of thousands of people depend.

Donald Trump, since his arrival in the presidency, in January 2017, has escalated in the aggressive posture towards Cuba, without hiding his determination to dismantle the approach initiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama, which led to the reestablishment of relations, the reopening of the embassies and the signing of twenty agreements.

(Prensa Latina)