By José Manzaneda, coordinator of Cubainformación on October 29, 2026 from Spain
France or Cuba, where is the repression
During the student protests in France, nearly 7,000 people have been arrested, 85% of whom are minors. President Emmanuel Macron has announced “a massive judicial operation” so that “those who have tried to bring down the Republic,” he says, “will be held accountable”.
You won’t read the words “repression” or “political prisoners” in the corporate press. However, let’s turn to Cuba, to the violent protests of July 11, 2021. The same press, even today, continues to speak of “repression, when police action in Cuba was minimal—ridiculous even when compared to the brutality of the French police today. And it continues to speak of “political prisoners”, referring to people who, at that time, also sought to “overthrow” their country’s constitutional order—which had been approved by referendum on the island just two years earlier. A textbook case of a double standard.
Israel: A Genocidal State Protected by the Media
Israel is the only state in the world that can bomb 9 countries and invade 3 in a single year; kill 100,000 people in 1,000 days; displace nearly 6 million people; and violate every convention on international law and human rights.
And it does so because it enjoys the complicity and protection of the governments of the U.S., the European Union, and the United Kingdom, where support for the Palestinian resistance is legally prosecuted and criminalized by the media. Here are some examples.
Musician Rob Del Naja, of the band Massive Attack, was arrested in London under the Anti-Terrorism Act for displaying a sign in support of the outlawed organization Palestine Action.
Fergie Chambers, an American who uses his own funds to support Palestine solidarity groups, remains in custody in Madrid, awaiting possible extradition to the U.S.
And against the Basque solidarity activists Asier Herranz and Youssef Brahim, in addition to a brutal smear campaign), a 32-year prison sentence is pending for their reporting on Palestine, Iran, and Lebanon .
Many journalists are harassed for exposing the crimes committed by Israel and the U.S. against the Palestinian or Iranian people. In July, at the Washington airport, American journalist Max Blumenthal had his equipment confiscated upon his return from a work trip to Tehran.
In three years, Israel has killed 270 journalists in Gaza. And the Western media, along with social media companies, are direct accomplices in this, as Francesca Albanese a UN rapporteur who is also facing brutal economic sanctions from the Donald Trump administration —has just denounced.
Europe: Double Standards on Ukraine and Cuba
The European Parliament has repeatedly condemned Cuba for preventing the political participation of those on the island who collaborate with the U.S. regime. Well, in September, it barred Yulia Mendel—Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s former press secretary, who is now being persecuted in her home country, Ukraine—from entering its Brussels headquarters. She was preparing to speak out against the war and propose “diplomacy instead of escalation” in the conflict with Russia.
Journalists and researchers, such as Marta Havryshko, have had to flee Ukraine for the same reason, and for speaking out against compulsory conscription. This conscription, incidentally, is supported by the European Union, which bars Ukrainians who refuse to go to war from entering its territory.
But none of this reaches the average European citizen. Not only are they barred from accessing Russian media, but they may also face criminal charges if they post anything from those outlets on their social media.
In July, Russian journalist Xenia Fedorova was expelled from France after her assets were frozen.
Anna Novikova, founder of the organization SOS Donbass, which sends humanitarian aid to that conflict zone, was arrested a year ago in Paris, where she is now on trial as a “collaborator with Moscow”. All of this, incidentally, to the applause of the French press.
But the repression is not limited to Russians. Recently, former British MP George Galloway, former Swiss military officer Jacques Baud, and German journalist Hüseyin Dogru (31) had all their bank accounts closed in retaliation for their criticism of NATO’s role in the war in Ukraine.
They’re in Europe as if to lecture countries—such as Cuba—on political freedoms or freedom of the press.
Source: Cubainformacion, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English