Cuban Regime Awards "Machetes" to Its Most Loyal Supporters

While countless Cubans endure power outages, food and medicine shortages, and political repression, the Cuban regime once again showcased its complete detachment from the nation's harsh realities. The authorities held a lavish ceremony, complete with grand speeches, to present the replica of the Machete of Generalissimo Máximo Gómez. Once a symbol of independence and struggle, this token has now become a grotesque emblem of loyalty to the regime.

This year's honorees include Humberto López, a state media figure known for discrediting activists and independent journalists through his television campaigns, and Annie Garcés, a young singer famous for her phrase "the 62,000 millenniums" in defense of Castroism. Joining them are other government-aligned figures such as Yusuam Palacios, Elier Ramírez, the deputy director of the Fidel Castro Center, the Tele Turquino channel, and even La Colmenita of the PNR, a children's group affiliated with the police.

Humberto López, upon receiving his symbolic machete, expressed gratitude to the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR) with a speech laced with warlike rhetoric: "In times of unconventional warfare... let's make every day a new battle." In a display of audacity, he railed against what he termed "propaganda" and "cheap, simple, crude lies designed to infiltrate, fragment, seduce, and divide," asserting that his work as a communicator is part of a supposed defense of the homeland. "We are at your service," he declared.

Annie Garcés celebrated her recognition on Facebook, noting her place among the honorees as "one of the youngest artists" to receive Gómez's machete. The singer, who performed during the celebration of the 64th anniversary of the declaration of the revolution's socialist character, wrote about "the beauty of being consistent until the last breath," without a word about the blackouts, political prisoners, or the widespread hardship plaguing her country.

Such awards are not new. Since 1986, MINFAR has bestowed this distinction on those who, under the guise of cultural commitment, act as mouthpieces for the regime's ideology. In 2021, the duo Buena Fe was also honored amid a national backdrop marked by the July 11 social upheaval and the mass incarceration of young protesters. "We try to remain people of our time," said Israel Rojas at the time.

Rewarding Obedience While Punishing Dissent

In a country where artists like Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara are imprisoned, independent journalists are harassed, and dissenting thought is criminalized, it is nothing short of outrageous that the highest authorities award patriotic symbols to those who have dedicated themselves to justifying repression, censorship, and the cult of personality.

The contrast is stark: while some receive a machete in a ceremony adorned with flowers, uniforms, and flags, hundreds of Cubans are jailed for exercising their right to free expression. As the regime praises "unity" and "the infinite work of the Homeland in Revolution," thousands await visas to escape the country that promised them glory but delivered only misery.

An Empty Gesture for a Crumbling Republic

These types of decorations highlight the regime's level of cynicism, as it prioritizes rewarding obedience over addressing the country's urgent issues. The true heroes of today have neither microphones nor golden machetes. They stand in bread lines, work in under-resourced hospitals, live in neighborhoods without power, and endure families torn apart by exile.

Celebrating the "loyalists of the year" with a replica of Máximo Gómez's machete is, at best, a painful irony. At worst, it is a blatant provocation to a people who have already lost too much.