Zoe Valdés Criticizes Leonardo Padura as "Regime's Enforcer"

During her recent appearance at the Derecha Fest in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Cuban author Zoe Valdés stirred up controversy by labeling fellow Cuban writer Leonardo Padura as a "regime's enforcer" and harshly criticizing his literary work.

Residing in France, Valdés was unreserved in her condemnation of Padura, whom she described as a "petty writer" whose work, in her view, "glosses over the atrocities of the Island."

"His literature doesn't reveal the true state of the island. It sugarcoats the horrors faced by the Cuban people," she remarked.

In an interview with Infobae, Valdés argued that Padura has been instrumental to the regime's efforts to distort the history of authors like herself, Reinaldo Arenas, and Guillermo Cabrera Infante, ultimately silencing their voices.

According to Valdés, Padura's role abroad has been to "suppress the truthful voices of Cuban exiles," all the while promoting the revolution and receiving international accolades such as the Princess of Asturias Award and the Hammett Prize.

"He is a writer who visited Lula da Silva in prison, delivering direct messages from Raúl Castro," she disclosed.

The intellectual stressed that Padura acts as the regime's enforcer, claiming he is "the alter ego, not the reverse, of the detective character in his novels."

Finally, setting aside his literary achievements, she asserted that the creator of Mario Conde is one of the most detrimental figures to intellectuals who have truly suffered within Cuba.

"What's intriguing is that I'm always asked about Leonardo Padura, yet no one questions him about me," she challenged.