“Blockade against Cuba = An act of war” and “Cuba sends doctors, not bombs” were the slogans that stood out during the silent demonstration near Madrid’s Criminal Court 31, where Manzaneda, coordinator of the media outlet Cubainformación and the Euskadi-Cuba Association, is being tried.

Actor Willy Toledo, writer Belén Gopegui, and representatives of groups of friendship with Cuba gathered in the area, and some of them managed to enter the courtroom to follow the trial.

Accused of “grave defamation, slander, and a hate crime” by the president of NGO Prisoners Defenders, Javier Larrondo, an outspoken opponent of the Cuban Revolution, Manzaneda said on Thursday that he used journalistic hyperbole about war criminals within the framework of freedom of expression.

In response to questions from his lawyer, the journalist explained that the Euskadi-Cuba Association is “the reference in the Basque Country” in terms of solidarity with Cuba and is firmly opposed to the United States blockade against Cuba, which is supported by groups such as Prisoners Defenders.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office sees no crime in Manzaneda’s comments in his article “Creating a Health Crisis in Cuba, the Objective of the War against its Medical Cooperation,” published on October 5, 2020.

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