The distressed messages of a Holguín journalist trapped in Tehran reflect another reality.
14ymedio, Havana, 18 June 2025 — Last Monday, June 16th, while millions of screens around the world showed an Iranian presenter fleeing the set when a missile exploded, a Cuban journalist wrote from Teheran: “Israel attacked the radio and television headquarters; I try to protect myself. Best wishes to all.”
This is Jaime Yoan Batista Peña, a Cuban audiovisual media professional, ex-commentator, journalist and presenter in Holguín province. He started off in radio and moved to TeleCristal, before establishing himself as a contributor to HispanTV, the Iranian Spanish language state channel. Nevertheless, there has not been a single mention of his situation in Noticiero Nacional de Television [Cuba’s official, state-run nightly television news program], nor in official Ministry of External Relations websites. Not even a formal note from the Cuban embassy in Teheran, which limits its public activity to reproducing Chancellor Bruno Rodriguez’ slogans and citations from Miguel Díaz-Canel about the “solid character” of the Revolution.
The newspaper “Ahora”, mouthpiece of the Communist Party in Holguín, is also silent.
The silence also extends to the Ahora newspaper, mouthpiece of the Holguín Communist Party, which has not even once mentioned the prize-winning Holguín reporter who is right now in danger in a conflict zone. And the Unión de Periodistas de Cuba (Upec) [CubanJournalists Union] has also said nothing. But colleagues in the island have inundated his Facebook with messages of support. However, the Party has so far not given an order to issue any comment about him.
Batista has contributed to HispanTV since at least 2015, when his reports began to appear about Latin American politics. Since that time, his face has appeared on that platform, where he is reporting directly from Iran. His work is characterised by an information strategy totally aligned with the official narrative of that theocracy, whose interest in Latin America is as ideological as it is geopolitical.
HispanTV was founded on December 21st, 2011, as part of Iran’s international propaganda apparatus, alongside PressTV (in English) and Al-Alam (in Arabic). The channel is owned by Radiodifusión de la República Islámica de Irán (Irib), a state organisation directly controlled by the supreme leader, Ayatolla Ali Khameneí. Financed by Iranian public resources, HispanTV pursues an anti-Western, anti-Israeli agenda, and with links to authoritarian regimes. It has been frequently been sanctioned for putting out conspiracy theories and antisemitic content. Although its declared objective is to “strengthen cultural links” with Latin America, its real mission is to act as the international voice of the Iranian regime.
Financed by Iranian public resources, HispanTV pursues an anti-Western, anti-Israeli agenda, and with links to authoritarian regimes
In his Facebook message on Monday, Batista cautioned: “Do not send me internal messages because I cannot respond. We are in complex difficult circumstances. I am grateful for all expressions of solidarity and love.” It was a dry text, as if written between sirens, with bated breath and barely concealed anxiety.
And on Wednesday morning he wrote another even more worrying message: “The internet is very limited and extremely slow. Messages are not going out. Best from Teheran.” And then, a possibility of escape: “They are making preparations for evacuations through terrestrial borders. The situation remains tricky. I am OK and being helped by our Cuban embassy. Thank you for your messages.”
Several days have passed since the conflict broke out, and the Cuban state response remains the same as ever: hidden in silence. Just as happened in other international crises – Nicaragua, Venezuela, Syria – the government seems more concerned about protecting ideological alliances than guaranteeing the safety of its citizens. We haven’t forgotten the names of Assel Herrera Correa and Landy Rodríguez Hernández, two doctors in Kenya, whose bodies have not been recovered. The Cuban regime applied the same strategy to that case: let the silence fester until no one asks any more questions.
The government seems more concerned about protecting ideological alliances than guaranteeing the safety of its citizens
Iran is unsafe during the systematic Israeli offensive, which has destroyed the armed forces chain of command, attacked the underground bases at Natanz and Fordow used for uranium enrichment, decimated the aerial defence systems, and wiped out nearly two dozen scientists who designed the nuclear project. Various Latin American countries – including Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia and México– are already evacuating their embassies in Teheran.
The Cuban community in Iran is small: diplomats, technicians and some assistants. But their small numbers don’t make them less vulnerable. The lack of official data on how many Cubans live in Teheran, or other cities, increases the risk of being abandoned. In a country where ideological repression is disguised as religious observance, where the use of the veil is compulsory, homosexuality is punished, alcohol consumption is forbidden, and the media are strictly controlled by the state, the safety of foreigners – especially those without firm diplomatic support – is uncertain. A military escalation, as we are seeing now, converts this uncertainty into a direct threat.
( The lack of official data on how many Cubans live in Teheran, or other cities, increases the risk of being abandoned
Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, Iran and Cuba have had a relationship sustained by a shared dialogue against “imperialism,” especially against the United States and Israel. High level visits, cooperation agreements on health, energy and biotechnology, and mutual support in international forums have cemented a strategic alliance. But have also sealed a pact of mutual silence over violations of human rights.
The regimes protect each other, that is why Cuba is more interested in declaring support for Iran and asserting in its media that Teheran is winning the battle against Israel, than the plight of its citizens trapped beneath the bombs. Meanwhile, friends and family of Batista know that to find out if he is still alive, can escape and return to his country, they need to keep looking at his Facebook profile.
Translated by GH
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