Journalist Mario J. Pentón asks people to remain calm until the new Administration makes any plan official

14ymedio, Madrid, 23 January 2025 — Sources from the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday denied a fake news story that spread like wildfire in a few hours on social media in a large part of the Cuban community. The publication contained the main lines of a plan – allegedly on the desk of the president of the United States, Donald Trump – to “accelerate the end of the Cuban dictatorship.”
“Don’t be fooled by rumors. Always verify information using official sources from the United States government,” a senior official told independent media outlet Café Fuerte — founded by veteran Cuban journalist Wilfredo Cancio Isla — on Wednesday night. The denial note also states that “no Trump administration official or member of federal agencies had been contacted to confirm the legitimacy of the pamphlet.” This Thursday, the U.S. embassy in Cuba itself posted a message along the same lines on its Facebook account.
The text originally came from the also reputable Miami-based journalist Mario Vallejo, who stressed on his Facebook account [see below] that the content was not official and had reached him through a “well-informed” source. The alleged measures are part, he said, of a draft that could be – always with the use of the conditional – approved as such or with modifications. The measures’ entry into force would be announced on January 30, a very short period if it were still being studied, although the new Administration has not exactly been characterized in its first hours of life by its delay.
The measures’ entry into force would be announced on January 30, a very short period if it were still being studied.
There are five points in the message: the total suspension of remittances, the suspension of direct commercial flights, the return of Cubans with deportation orders or criminal convictions, as well as people linked to the regime and, finally, the most controversial, the restrictions on exiles who have received political asylum or Humanitarian Parole who return to the Island and who, according to rumor, would not be able to return to the US if they had made such a trip.
Finally, the post concludes by stating that the Department of Homeland Security “will monitor the implementation of these policies to ensure compliance and effectiveness.”
The message has received at least 3,500 comments and has been shared some 3,400 times. In turn, hundreds or even thousands of accounts have re-spread it, exponentially multiplying the dissemination of alleged measures that, for now, are nothing more than mere speculation. Donald Trump’s first administration limited remittance shipments and commercial flights to Cuba, so it is not unreasonable to think that similar measures could be repeated.
The deportation of those sanctioned by law or those who already have an expulsion order also seems consistent with the White House’s plans, and involve some 42,000 people from the island at this time, according to official sources. In addition, the former Cuban officials who arrived in the US with the Humanitarian Parole Program already had their cases, mostly, under judicial review, since they failed to comply with their obligation to declare it.
More confusing is the measure that involves preventing the return of those who travel to the Island. More specifically, the journalist Mario J. Pentón – former editor of 14ymedio and currently with Martí Noticias – has spoken out against the rumor, saying he is disgusted with the circulation of this fake news.
“It deeply bothers me that they do this kind of thing to people, precisely because they are taking advantage of people who are afraid, people who are in a vulnerable situation,” he said. The reporter posted a video on his social networks analyzing the rumor which, according to his sources, is completely false, and asks for patience to see what measures are officially decided in Washington.
“It deeply bothers me that they do this kind of thing to people, precisely because they are taking advantage of people who are afraid, people who are in a vulnerable situation.”
Pentón fiercely defends Vallejo, although he attributes the “leaked document” to Cuban State Security, which would call into question the “journalistic flair” of his namesake. The seniority of both is beyond doubt, although their versions differ completely.
Whatever happens, “you will find out exactly when the US government announces it,” Penton argues. Although he also suspects that most of the alleged announcements may turn out to be true in the future, he is against divulging information without confirming it up to two or three times, a journalistic maxim beyond any doubt in any democratic country, where checking through more or less official sources is possible through several phone calls.
This does not happen in places like Cuba, where information is controlled and verification is impossible through official channels and very complex for unofficial sources, who sometimes fear for their personal safety when reporting something. This context has led to the proliferation on the island – through social networks – of rumors, which sometimes end up becoming reality, but often do not. With the risks that this entails.
In democratic countries, disinformation is usually a response to political interests – internal or external – or mainly economic interests, but the press, which has verification mechanisms, is obliged to monitor this information. Pentón, therefore, rejects the “atrocities” that appear in the “draft,” since in his opinion they attribute to the Department of National Security issues that are the responsibility of the Treasury or Justice Departments.
Pentón, therefore, rejects the “atrocities” that appear in the “draft,” since in his opinion they attribute to the Department of National Security issues that are the responsibility of the Treasury or Justice Departments.
The reporter, very concerned about the fear that some Cubans who were planning to go to the Island may feel, calls for a distinction to be made between those who entered through the Humanitarian Parole Program – who only have one entry into the US and must remain there before taking advantage of the Cuban Adjustment Act – and those who have political asylum, whose trip would be an indication that they lied before a judge, since they do not fear returning to their country.
Pentón calls for calm until such time as the measures are known, and for no unjustified fear to be instilled in the population, although he does express concern about what may happen with visas, which Congress can block for citizens of countries that do not accept deportations, something that will likely end up happening in Cuba.
*Translator’s Note: Because of the importance of understanding the context, we are re-posting Mario Vallejo’s entire Facebook message here:
AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE FAKE NEWS. Here is the original post…
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