With the arrival of summer, protests are expected over the worsening energy situation.
14ymedio, Havana, 12 May 2025 — Tensions between Havana and Washington continue to drive the rumor mill about Cuba. Readers, commentators, and conspiracy theorists paint a picturesque picture of the island, in which a reclusive Raúl Castro “is left without an army.” In his political retirement, but still holding the reins of the regime, the veteran general wages a relentless war against Donald Trump, and so, they predict, his death will come.
Beyond the imaginary, it is true that a growing procession of deportees is traveling from the US to Cuba. Rumors give the expulsions an ideological tone, and US authorities are being asked to hunt down informers, former leaders and former members of the Communist Party who managed to establish themselves in Miami in recent months thanks to the Humanitarian Parole program.
The absurdity of former regime collaborators living out their retirement in the country they once so fiercely criticized is the first argument many users use to point out their names, surnames, and addresses. Many are calling on Trump to deport them immediately, and rumors feature their addresses in great detail.
Many are calling on Trump to deport them immediately, and rumors are detailing their addresses in great detail.
The former prosecutor of Nueva Paz (Mayabeque), whose work accounts for dozens of arrests, lives in Miami, according to one user. Meanwhile, in Tampa, is the former first secretary of the Communist Party in Pinar del Río, Lázara Barrios. Also in Florida is a notorious State Security agent and “abuser” of that province, who spied on many residents of Sandino. A former member of the Santa Clara rapid response brigades, “protagonist” of countless acts of repudiation, is also accused of living quietly in retirement somewhere in the US.
Some rumors already refer to the activation of a special State Security department, designed to track the deportees. One user’s comment about the purpose of this supposed surveillance mechanism says it all: “The political police know that those people who have lived out there for years aren’t going to play ball here because they’re used to other things, a different standard of living, and complaining about everything.”
The same user describes that a “detailed file containing the data of deportees is in the process of being developed, and they will be used as a target for monitoring in case the situation in the country worsens.”
Other rumors claim that part of this department’s work includes monitoring the children of high-ranking officials living in the United States—many of them with supposedly false identities. Others say that, despite the regime’s precautions, these young people have been located by U.S. counterintelligence and are ready to be detained and deported to the island.
As a measure to guarantee the absolute loyalty of his high-ranking officials, Raúl Castro has launched a purge – according to one rumor – in which several military officers have already been killed.
The most mind-boggling situations are being discussed regarding the regime’s counterattack on Trump. From the purchase of advanced weapons for a supposed invasion—the subject of multiple rumors since January—to the massive stampede of military personnel and police, fearful that a military confrontation they cannot win could actually occur between the US and Cuba. As a measure to ensure the absolute loyalty of his high-ranking officials, Raúl Castro has launched a purge—according to one rumor—in which several military personnel have already been killed, including the head of the Eastern Army, who was demoted by a court of honor.
The situation on the island continues to deteriorate, and rumors—in their hyperbolic and confusing style—continue to bear witness to this. This month, hospitals and health centers were the focus of much commentary. It was reported that the head of the Intensive Care Unit at Boyeros Hospital in Havana resells medical supplies. She hides the medications in a locker and distributes them with the help of an accomplice.
Other rumors accuse the staff at the Santa Clara Psychiatric Hospital—an institution with a sinister reputation—of mistreating their patients, stealing their food, and abusing their situation. It has also been reported that at the Matanzas gynecology and obstetric center, in the absence of medications, convince their patients that they can be completely cured with prayers and natural medicine.
It was also reported that in the Matanzas gynecology and obstetric clinic, in the absence of medication, convince their patients that they can be completely cured with prayers and natural medicine.
Reports of increased violence and crime are common. A criminal was caught in Havana—and tied up while awaiting police custody—after stealing a child’s cell phone. A similar incident occurred on Obispo Street, when a thief tried to steal a Chinese tourist’s purse.
In Santiago de Cuba, meanwhile, a coachman was reported to have wielded a machete at an inspector who had issued him a 16,000-peso fine. Another Santiago resident, a resident of the Altamira neighborhood, was reported to have stabbed his wife. A man was also accused of murdering his wife and throwing her into a ditch in Cabaiguán, Sancti Spíritus.
In the coming months, many commentators expect a drastic worsening of the energy situation. Summer, since the crisis began, has indeed been the period with the most protests and graffiti, and rumors are predicting a radical increase in the immediate future.
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