The Cuban Embassy in Mozambique shared a 58-second video on its official Facebook page this Friday. The clip, generated with artificial intelligence, depicts two supposed agents from ICE—the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement—arresting Julián Quiñones, a star forward for the Mexican national soccer team, in front of a packed stadium.
This propaganda piece became a target of widespread ridicule due to a glaring and fundamental mistake: the match referenced in the video, the opening game of the 2026 World Cup between Mexico and South Africa, took place on Thursday at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, drawing a crowd of 80,824 spectators. ICE is a U.S. federal agency with no law enforcement authority in Mexico.
The image, bearing the mark of "Aguaje Films," shows Quiñones wearing the number 11 jersey of the Mexican team, being restrained by two officers dressed in black uniforms labeled "ICE."
The post was accompanied by the Cuban regime's official hashtags: #CubaEstaFirme, #CubaResiste, #PatriaOMuerte, and #Venceremos, tagging the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cuban Presidency, and the Cuban Medical Brigade in Mozambique.
Journalist Mario J. Pentón publicly called out the manipulation: “Manipulation and lie alert! The Cuban dictatorship's embassy in Mozambique posts a video made with artificial intelligence showing two ICE agents arresting Julián Quiñones, Mexico's star player. The minor yet significant mistake by these mediocre diplomats is that the game took place in Mexico, not in the United States.”
The comment section was flooded with criticism and mockery, much of it from users identifying as Cuban.
“What is ICE doing in Mexico?” one user asked. “Now ICE operates in Mexico,” another joked. “If this is a meme, it’s terrible because the game was in Mexico, they’re stupid and ignorant,” added a third.
One commentator highlighted the logical absurdity of the scene: “And if that happened in Mexico and he’s Mexican, where would they deport him to? To Cuba? Because that would indeed be a severe punishment. You don’t earn respect by lying so much.”
Another user criticized the diplomatic mission directly: “It’s disrespectful for a diplomatic mission of my country to spread news and videos that aren’t real; they should focus more on their fellow citizens and adhere to the responsibilities of an embassy, it’s disgraceful.”
Reactions also included calls to report the content to the platform: “Let’s report the video for false images,” one user wrote. “Take away AI from these people,” added another.
Quiñones was, in fact, the hero of the match that the regime attempted to distort: the Colombian-born naturalized Mexican forward scored Mexico’s first goal in the 2026 World Cup at the nine-minute mark, leading to a 2-0 victory over South Africa, breaking a seven-game opening match winless streak for the national team.
This incident follows a warning from the U.S. Embassy in Cuba about the misuse of its institutional image by so-called "cyberclarias" to spread falsehoods, and comes after sanctions imposed by Washington on June 9 against operators linked to these disinformation networks of the Cuban regime.
It's not the first time regime officials have resorted to fake images to craft narratives. In February, Gerardo Hernández was accused of using a photo of an Argentine baby for propaganda purposes, a pattern also documented in Venezuela, where Maduro’s regime used AI-created journalists to disseminate government-favorable news.
“God, delete that. How embarrassing!” summarized one user in the comments of the embassy's post.
Key Questions About the Cuban Embassy's AI Video Incident
Why was the AI-generated video by the Cuban Embassy criticized?
The video was criticized for depicting ICE agents arresting a Mexican soccer player in Mexico, which is impossible as ICE has no jurisdiction there. This error led to mockery and accusations of misinformation.
What was the response of social media users to the Cuban Embassy's video?
Social media users responded with ridicule and criticism, questioning the logic behind the video and criticizing the embassy for spreading false information.