Nick Shirley, the Trumpist influencer who lied about his visa to invent a “kidnapping” in Cuba

The Cuban government acted transparently in response to a proven immigration violation: he entered as a tourist, did undercover journalism, and voluntarily left the country on May 1st. His story of “spies,” “surgeries by flashlight,” and an “escape route” is pure anti-communist script.

Nick Shirley, a Trumpist influencer, lied when he said he entered Cuba with a journalist visa. Cuban authorities confirmed that his visa was a tourist visa and that he left voluntarily on May 1st.

In a new episode of media manipulation, U.S. citizen Nick Shirley — a well-known influencer linked to political confrontation groups and an active promoter of policies pushed by the Donald Trump administration — tried to pose as a journalist in Cuba using a tourist visa. When his immigration violation was detected, Cuban authorities applied the established protocol. Shirley decided to leave the country early on May 1st. He was neither pursued, nor detained, nor “kidnapped.” He bought his own ticket and left.

However, in the video he published after leaving, he constructed a fictional narrative: he speaks of “Cuban intelligence” stalking him in the lobby of his hotel, a supposed “escape route,” “surgeries by flashlight” in Cuban hospitals, and claims his visa said “journalistic activities.” All of that is false.

What Nick Shirley doesn’t say

First: Shirley entered Cuba on April 30, 2026, with a tourist visa, not a journalist visa. His statement in the video that his visa included “journalistic activities” is a deliberate lie. Cuban immigration authorities have confirmed this: his immigration status did not authorize him to carry out systematic recordings, interviews, or reports.

Second: He lies when he says all his cameras were confiscated upon arrival. Cuba applies its customs laws in a standard manner to all travelers. In fact, he himself acknowledges that he was able to keep his iPhone and even a hidden microphone.

Third: His story of “surgeons operating by flashlight” and “the biggest humanitarian crisis in 50 years” is baseless propaganda. Cuba faces an energy deficit aggravated by the intensification of the U.S. economic blockade — unilateral coercive measures that the world condemns — but no Cuban hospital performs surgeries by flashlight. That image belongs to a horror movie script, not to Cuban reality.

Fourth: There was no “Cuban intelligence stalking him,” no “escape plan,” no “boat to flee to the Coast Guard.” What happened was a routine immigration procedure: once it was verified that he was carrying out unauthorized activities with his tourist visa, he was called in for an interview with the authorities. Afterward, he voluntarily decided to take an earlier flight. He left Cuba on May 1st without being detained, without being handcuffed, without being imprisoned. His story of an “imminent kidnapping” is pure script to feed his anti-communist audience.

Cuba has laws, and they are applied without exception

Cuba reiterates its firm commitment to defending its sovereignty and the full validity of its legal system. Our country remains an open, safe, and welcoming destination for international tourism, as long as its rules and regulations are respected.

What will not be allowed is for foreign citizens, protected by a tourist visa, to carry out undercover journalistic activities with the purpose of staging a show of false accusations. No provocation, no matter how many cameras or social media followers it has, will be able to break Cuban law.

Nick Shirley was not a victim of communism. He was a victim of his own lies.

In the context of May Day

This action takes place within the framework of the historic popular mobilization of May Day, a day on which more than 600,000 Cubans marched in support of peace and delivered more than 6 million signatures against war and the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the U.S. government.

While Shirley was inventing spies in the lobby, the Cuban people were filling the streets to defend their independence, their dignity, and their right to build a future without the blockade. He wanted to show a collapsed Cuba. What he found was a country standing tall, with clear laws and a people that cannot be bought or intimidated.

The Cuban people have demonstrated, once again, their unwavering will to defend their independence and reject any attempt at aggression or media manipulation, no matter where it comes from.