Official Cuban Journalists Clash Over Leadership and Projects: A Heated Debate Erupts

There seems to be something missing from the goodie bag that the Cuban regime uses to reward its loyal official press members. This week, a significant controversy has erupted among the regime’s spokespersons, stirring up the ashes of La Roca de Santa Ifigenia. The key figures in this minor yet telling fracture within the government are Michel Torres Corona, the host of the controversial program "Con Filo" on Cuban Television, and Leticia Martínez Hernández, head of press at the palace and social media manager for leader Miguel Díaz-Canel.

The spark for this disagreement was a Facebook post regarding the 9th Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). Torres Corona, who once fiercely criticized opponents, activists, and independent journalists, expressed an opinion that raised alarms within the palace. “We need a Congress that is united against those who wish to restore liberalism, where we can have open discussions and decide a single course for the Revolution. Enough with indecisiveness. It's time for a recount and counteroffensive. The people want social justice and sovereignty; they want leaders and not just officials, comrades instead of bosses. There's no time to waste. Understand the historical moment, understand the urgency...” he stated.

Immediately, the red phone rang in the PCC's Ideological Department, and the counterintelligence call was forwarded to the palace. In her office, Martínez Hernández became furious when informed of Torres Corona's audacity and rushed to social media to put the subordinate in his place, firmly against the wall. “Decide a single course? Social justice? Sovereignty? Leaders? When did we lose all that you claim is urgent?” she challenged, noting that Torres Corona was speaking on behalf of the "people" and expressing their desire for "leaders and not officials," and even worse, "comrades instead of bosses."

While Díaz-Canel’s advisor enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle in Spain, his stepson turned him overnight into a bourgeois puppet, prompting other proletarian agitators to question his legitimacy. “Leticia, I'm not sure if we lost it, but I don't think we have it clear. At least I don't see it clearly. That's why we need to discuss and agree as soon as possible,” Torres Corona quickly replied to the guardian of official narratives.

Voices Join the Fray

As with any gripping story, the debate among official journalists attracted additional voices and secondary players like Paquito de Cuba (Francisco Rodríguez Cruz), the 'cyber claria' Iramís Rosique, Ana Ivis Galán García from ACN, and Tamara María Ortiz Méndez from Central University "Marta Abreu" of Las Villas (UCLV), who works alongside Leticia’s mother, a fellow professor at UCLV.

“Let the people decide if these issues are not urgent. Yes, there’s a loss of social justice. Yes, we no longer see a unified course. Yes, we miss the Leaders we knew and had the privilege to follow. These are painful truths that must be heard and learned from history,” commented Galán García.

Smelling trouble, Torres Corona hurried to soften some of the responses his post had triggered. “I marvel at how the presidential office has everything so clear. Parallel worlds,” remarked user Betty Pairol, who mixes regime propaganda with insights into its current nature, exposing prevailing social injustice and inequality, exemplified by the “revolutionary young entrepreneur” Sandro Castro.

“Betty, let’s not turn this exchange into a blame game. The presidential office works hard for Cuba and does not claim a clarity that doesn’t exist. We should all, as revolutionaries, think about solutions together without sterile divisions. What should we do? That’s the real question, and the answer must be a collective construction,” Torres Corona responded in a conciliatory tone.

Handling the Fallout

After four bitter drinks, Torres Corona lamented his fate again. “What to do if those in political power have it all ‘so clear’?” he questioned, stammering with hiccups and resentment.

“Here’s my take: ‘Nothing happened here,’ ‘everything’s the same,’ ‘and now what’s this guy talking about?’ Political blindness weighs more when one is alienated, and it feels worse when I have to endure it. You know how much this country has debated social inequality, and how much academia warned about it, only to now ask: Social Justice? Give me a break!” added the TV critic.

Not everyone was against Leticia, as Paquito de Cuba, a close confidant of the palace couple, stood by her. “When people start saying ‘We must do this or that’ with airs of a Marxist witch, or pretend to speak for the people, I unplug,” said the connected journalist.

“Francisco, many women were burned as witches. I have no problem being part of that coven,” responded Torres Corona’s “Marxist witch.” They exchanged hugs and affection, but the daggers were already flying on social media.

Rosique also entered the scene, with courage fueled by lack of oxygen. “I wish all comrades understood that defending a project in danger is far more important than defending an individual, no matter how beloved,” he said with a threadbare voice emerging between his mustache.

Aiming at Díaz-Canel, Rosique dove into the muck. “We shouldn’t excuse, defend, judge, or blame anyone: what’s needed is to get out of this decline, where neither the project, the people, nor the deceased will survive!”

“What are the avenues for popular participation to defend the endangered project?” asked Rosique, the professor from Díaz-Canel’s Alma Mater. “Does anyone remember what a worker’s state is?” Ortiz Méndez inquired.

Meanwhile, the focal point of this controversy, the ruler the people call “handpicked” and other colorful epithets, had no better idea to demonstrate his “continuity” leadership than to organize a March of the Combatant People... where we will undoubtedly see Torres Corona, Leticia, Iramís, and Paquito de Cuba, smiling and wearing their respective revolutionary slogan t-shirts.