Cuba: a news presenter decides to emigrate to the United States


One of the presenters of the Cuban television news announced on Friday that he had decided to emigrate to the United States, as thousands of his compatriots have been doing for months, denouncing the “despairin his country and theliesof his government. “My journey began, like that of thousands of other Cubans who, in recent months, got tired of plowing in the sand and decided to leave, to escape so much rotten shit, lies and despairwrote journalist Yuninho Rodriguez in a lengthy post on his Facebook account from Mexico, where he hopes to cross the US border.

The journalist, known as Yunior Smith on the television news, admits having been a “loverof the Cuban communist system but said he was disappointed with thefailed policies» and a «dead economyin his country, denouncing the use of the American embargo as a false pretext to explain the problems. He also criticizesthe disgusting police abuse of july 11when thousands of Cubans demonstrated their anger in the streets of the island, as well as the opening of many shops in foreign currency while the inhabitants are only paid in pesos.

Worst economic crisis in 30 years

Like him, thousands of Cubans have emigrated to Central America and Mexico in recent months to reach the United States, while Cuba is going through its worst economic crisis in three decades. The presenter, who posts a picture showing two people’s mud-covered shoes, says he suffered harassment from his bosses on state television. “I went to the chief’s office several times to ask ”what do you want me to say?”, because I could not find the means or the motive to defend the indefensible“.

His departure, however, sparked widespread criticism on social media, including from opposition journalists like Yoani Sanchez, director of the online newspaper 14ymedio. “I’ve seen so many leave… those defenders of the regime who bashed me on prime time on Cuban TV, to friends who never wanted to get involved saying they don’t talk about politics , to the militant neighbors of the Communist Party“, she commented on Twitter. “I’ve seen so many leave that nothing surprises me anymore“, she added with irony. In February, Yailén Insua, another state television journalist, requested asylum in Colombia after fleeing his country, claiming to have been the victim of numerous censorship attempts.



Source link -94