This Is How the Cuban Regime Assassinates Reputation: The Case of Tweeter Magdalene Jorge Castro

Cuba knows it has lost control of the regime Social websites. For this reason, old practices are resorted to to recover land: fines, harassment and chasing For critical tweeters who live on the island and load campaigns contempt Against those who do it from abroad.

That is the case Magdeel Jorge CastroA young Cuban tweeter living in Bolivia has been the target of an aggressive attack campaign. It began weeks ago in publications in Argentina and Bolivia and spread through official media on the island.

DIARIO DE CUBA spoke with him to try to understand the reasons behind the attack He was accused of being an agent of the Bolivian right, paid and controlled by the US embassy in that country. Attack the island regime.

According to Castro, the wave of attacks against him followed a curious sequence: “On the eve of July 11 this year, the Argentine newspaper Page 12 “It publishes an article signed by Gustavo Vega that purports to unravel my connections with President Luis Arce here in Bolivia and civic groups in Santa Cruz de la Sierra,” he says.

“It even talks about me flying out of Cuba after July 11, 2021, saying I’m working a ghost job in the government’s health department, giving me time to attack the Cuban regime. Lies,” it said.

The tweeter took to the task of investigating the identity of the person who wrote the text against him: “This man is a member CAPACor the Club Argentino de Periodistas Amigos de Cuba, a kind of branch of the Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC) in that country”.

“As a result of this article, an interesting set of events occurred: The first newspaper in Bolivia to reproduce the text is called the Weekly TimeIt is led by a former minister in the Evo Morales government, who has deep ties to Havana and writes for the official media. CubePad. Chances are slim here,” he says.

Castro points out “From there it spreads through many alternative platforms of the left on the continent” and finds an echo on sites like YouTube. The island’s political police were Guerrero Cubano. A few days after the article was published in Argentina, CubePad Reproduced it, and did the same shortly after Time. After them, a network of influencers was implemented in the service of Havana in networks. All with similar arguments, without providing evidence for their allegations.

“The reasons are clear, the regime has been doing it for a long time. It’s about assassinating the credibility of someone who exposes reality through their networks. They’re doing it with me, but they’ve done it with activists, independent journalists, protesters. “This is a ploy to attack the messenger so that he does not respond to the message,” says Castro.

“They seek to discredit me to such an extent that my accusations lose credibility, under the pretense that a lie repeated a thousand times becomes true, or at least creates doubt as to its truth. I only use social networks, Twitter, because they are cruel in that way, and what I do is read, and it makes me think that it is a stone in their shoes.

But why is this attack starting in Argentina? What interest could a media outlet from such a distant geography have in attacking a Cuban tweeter?

“You have to remember that Santa Cruz de la Sierra, where I live, is a sector of strong opposition to President Arce, Evo Morales and the left-wing party ruling the country, the Movement for Socialism (MAS). It was a key sector in Morales’ ouster in 2019. Governor Luis Fernando Camacho, who They want to link me, he was the leader of the protests and led the civil strike,” the Cuban tweeter warned.

“And there is a conflict between the Latin American left and the department of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. I am not surprised that they appealed to that feeling to discredit me from the same leftist newspapers in neighboring Argentina,” he insists.

Apart from the media campaign, Castro has also received private messages, which he describes as “dangers faced by those on the network.” But the attacks can go further: “I’ve also received attempts to trace my location, threats from anonymous numbers with the intention of knowing where I live.”

“It is no secret that the Cuban state security has relations across the continent not only with the organizations of these countries, but also through their embassies, which have enormous influence in these places. I know they can do whatever they want. They have authority, I only have freedom of expression. I’m not afraid,” he says.

Finally, Magdiel wanted to share with Diario de Cuba who he is and what he is doing in his destination country as another immigrant from the island.

“I’m a 27-year-old Cuban who decides to immigrate in 2019. I graduated in microbiology from the University of Havana and did community service at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB). “I left Cuba because of a loss of hope for a better future, an impatience to wait for changes that never came,” he says.

Castro recalled his first exposure to the conflict between independent civil society and the government on the island: he attended an LGBTIQ freedom march in Havana in May 2019, which was suppressed by police and state security in full view of the international and independent media. .

“It was a complete turning point in my life. It was the first moment I felt free and saw oppression first-hand. From there, political awareness was fostered,” he says.

“After arriving in Bolivia, like all immigrants, I worked at many things. I have never been able to do the work in my area despite the essay Page 12 He says I work in the Departmental Health Service (SEDES).It has been the health department of Govt. So this is an easy lie to verify.You call there and see that I have nothing to do with them”.

“Here I have nothing to do with the local political groups, the governor, the American embassies or the Bolivian press. They have never contacted me, which is very easy on the Internet. .”

“Why am I being harassed? When they have to resort to such blatant lies to discredit a political opponent, they have to lie and multiply shamelessly. fake news They attack the messenger because they don’t say much about the message. But it is difficult for them. Cuban youth have opened their eyes, they think for themselves, they have a wide spectrum to form an opinion, and those who know me know very well who I am,” he concludes.