Nick Shirley Exposes Cuban Oppression

Independent journalist Nick Shirley traveled to Cuba at the end of April to document the real conditions under more than 60 years of Communist rule. Unlike certain other visitors, he barely made it out alive.

Cuba’s Communist government has long welcomed those who oppose U.S. interests, including allies like China, Russia and Iran.

• In March 2026, a group of American and European leftists—including members of Code Pink, socialist streamer Hasan Piker and the daughter of radical Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar—visited the island. They enjoyed five-star hotels, expensive meals, concerts and meetings with President Miguel Díaz-Canel. They returned home claiming life in Cuba was fine and would improve if the United States eased its pressure.

But is this what ordinary Cubans are experiencing? Shirley went to find and document the truth.

• He brought his own security team and gear to record daily life. But right after he landed, Cuban officials seized his main cameras, his body cameras, his video-recording glasses, his microphones and most of his other equipment. They left him with only his smartphone and a small microphone. Spies followed him constantly.

What he witnessed was grim: Severe shortages of electricity, food and clean water; buildings crumbling from neglect; almost no cars on the streets; gasoline priced around $10 per gallon.

• At a hospital, long lines of patients waited outside. Due to frequent blackouts, surgeons performed operations by flashlight. People everywhere suffer from severe poverty.
• Last Friday, Shirley recorded a tense video from his hotel room in Havana. Cuban intelligence agents had entered the hotel lobby, apparently trying to trap him and his team.
• Fearing they could be taken hostage or imprisoned, the group made a risky escape plan. Their original flight was still days away. They considered rushing to the U.S. Embassy, a mile and a half away. Other ideas included switching taxis or hiding in the hotel. But a major Communist holiday rally was planned right outside. “This is probably the most dangerous situation I’ve ever been in,” Shirley said. He worried the video might never be released if they were caught.

Shirley and his team made it home safely. In his posts and video, he explained a key lesson: Under communism, there is no real free speech. Most are intimidated into never showing the truth, and those who do risk intimidation, confiscation or prison.

Many leftists still claim Cuba is not a dictatorship. Former President Barack Obama praised the regime’s education and health-care systems, without mentioning its long history of repression and killing.

• The Black Book of Communism estimates that nearly 100,000 people perished from the Castro regime’s firing squads, assassinations, imprisonments and failed attempts to flee the island.

The late Herbert W. Armstrong warned about Communist tactics decades ago. In 1934, he began speaking out that communism’s first weapon was propaganda. He wrote in 1980 that Communists were spreading atheistic ideas in American universities, among professors and students, and even into parts of the U.S. government.

• He also warned that America’s acceptance of Communist ideas would weaken the nation, making it vulnerable to future threats, including a revived Holy Roman Empire.

Shirley plans to release more details about his frightening experience. This highlights the dangers of honest reporting in a Communist country and reminds the world why freedom is so important and why propaganda hiding the failures of communism is so dangerous.