Havana/This Saturday, while most of Cuba tries to survive amid blackouts, repression, disease and hunger, several citizens gathered in front of Havana hotels with the hope—or simply the need—to receive supposed economic aid promised on social networks. The origin of the rumor was “another joke” by content creator Ignacio Giménez, a figure who in certain digital circles presents himself as “savior of Cuba” and who, once again, managed to stir up an exhausted population with promises of something that never existed.
Videos broadcast on X showed dozens of people gathered in front of capital hotels, including the Habana Libre. Some came early, hoping to find the “young people in yellow pullovers” who, according to the false announcement, would distribute financial assistance to anyone who presented their identification card. The scene showed dozens of citizens doing what they have done for decades—waiting, trusting, standing in line—but this time behind a digital mirage.
The avalanche of reactions forced the Ministry of Tourism to release an official note to clear the fog: “The news circulating in some media and digital platforms about the supposed distribution of donations in hotels in the country after the passage of Hurricane Melissa is false.” The institution also urged the population not to disseminate information that lacks verification and recalled that it is not that ministry that manages humanitarian donations.
But the denial came after the fact. Several people had already been seen hanging around the entrances to Habana Libre, as confirmed by official journalist Lázaro Manuel Alonso in your wall from Facebook. “The latest hoax on social media is the delivery of money in hotels,” he wrote. “Today I was surprised to see more people than usual around Habana Libre waiting for the gift promised.” Alonso regretted that networks are used to “misinform, lie and make fun of people.”
“Tomorrow is going to be a spectacular day,” he concluded, before closing his iPad “to rest.”
The trigger for this whole scene was a text published by Ignacio Giménez, a character whose fame has been built on viral videos, apocalyptic advertisements, predictions of the near end of the regime and promises of millionaire deliveries to the Cuban population. In his message, Giménez announced that “in a few hours” they would be “prepared in all the hotels on the Island” to distribute “the promised aid.” He assured that there would be order, the presence of national television, images from the provinces, and even an army of uniformed young people “at every door of every hotel.”
“At 8:00 am we will start posting images,” he said. “Tomorrow is going to be a spectacular day,” he concluded, before closing his iPad “to rest.”
Although he is a name well known to Cubans who interact the most on social networks, some still wonder: Who is Ignacio Giménez? The Spanish presents himself as “legal”, although no bar association in Spain or the United States recognizes it. He claims to have worked on international legal cases against senior officials of the Cuban regime, but there is no documentary trace of such litigation. He claims to handle multimillion-dollar funds “recovered” from Cuban power, destined to be distributed among the citizens of the Island, but he has not presented any proof of their existence either.
His fame arose during the years of greatest social fatigue, especially in the context prior to the protests of July 11, 2021. For many Cubans inside and outside the country, any figure that promised easy and quick change—with money included—could become a reference. Giménez took advantage of that emotional void and created live broadcasts full of epics, grandiose phrases, promises of millions of dollars and messianic rhetoric focused on the imminent fall of the Cuban system.
In 2021 he promised to broadcast a six-hour live show where he would show “devastating evidence” of the collapse of the regime. At that time, several media outlets and influencers They amplified their message. Didn’t show up. Then came announcements of trials, “sealed sentences,” confiscations of high officials’ bank accounts, and the imminent “economic liberation” of Cubans. Nothing happened either. His history of failed promises is as long as his ability to reinvent himself or the stubborn faith of his thousands of followers.
“The end justifies the means… I spent months creating a state of collective excitement that I knew was going to end in gigantic disappointment.”
Just a few hours ago Giménez himself published a message trying to clarify his “plan”. In it he explicitly recognizes that his false promises are not mistakes or jokes, but rather deliberate strategies to provoke collective reactions: “The end justifies the means… I spent months creating a state of collective excitement that I knew was going to end in a gigantic disappointment capable of stirring a people to the point of throwing them into the streets without having to ask them.”
But if Giménez’s statements revealed his “purpose,” the responses he received on his own profile exposed it even more. In a matter of minutes, his wall was transformed into an improvised court where hundreds of Cubans—inside and outside the country—expressed indignation, pain and also a moral clarity that contrasts with the theatrical tone of the self-proclaimed “digital savior.”
The adjectives ranged from “liar”, “swindler”, “jester” to more direct recommendations: “he should be hospitalized” or “some neuroleptic would help him”. For many, what happened was not just a cruel joke, but a deliberate mockery of an exhausted people. One user summed up that feeling: “He has played with a poor country, with desperate people who believed, because they no longer have anything else to believe in.”
Others criticized not only the deception, but the structural irresponsibility behind it. “Emotionally manipulating a desperate people to provoke social explosions based on lies is not leadership,” wrote an Internet user in a comment that quickly became a reference among users. “That is instrumentalization of other people’s pain,” he added, and confronted him with a hard truth: “The lie—whether it comes from the Party or from a supposed opponent—always ends up oppressing.”
“Emotionally manipulating a desperate people to provoke social explosions based on lies is not leadership”
Many claimed to have believed in him. “You had to speak clearly,” wrote one follower. “People went for their money… how does your word stand now?” Others demanded more concrete measures: “The best thing is to report your account so they can close it,” asked one woman, remembering that it was not the first time that Giménez made impossible promises. “He’s just looking for followers to monetize,” added another.
More intimate, hurt messages also emerged among the criticisms: “Many believed in you,” wrote one user. “He had no mercy. He mocked a suffering people.” Another follower, more resigned than indignant, commented: “You have disappointed me, but I don’t hate you. Thank you for what we liked and what we didn’t. Memento mori”.
The majority agreed on one point: the Cuban people, victims of political manipulation for decades, do not need another manipulator, no matter how “creative” they declare themselves. “Freedom is not built by lying,” one commentator wrote sternly. “He who lies for love does not love: he controls. And Cuba already knows too well that type of love that oppresses.”
