Nick Shirley went to Cuba to film the reality of living in a communist country. They confiscated his equipment and spied on him for the 24 hours he was in the country. He said he was planning his escape route, and he did escape. He was afraid the Cuban intelligence agents in the hotel lobby were preparing to arrest them.
There is no freedom of speech or press, and he was subject to arrest under their regime.
When he got to Cuba, they took all his equipment except his iPhone and one microphone. He found that the buildings are crumbling and the University of Cuba is destroyed. There are hardly any cars or food for the people.
Surgeons are operating with flashlights due to the blockade.
In the clip, he describes what it was like having spies threatening them.
Shirley said, “More to come from my 24 hours in Cuba soon. You will be absolutely shocked to see the reality. I went without a Cuban government tour guide, so no fluff, just the reality, hence why they put spies and their intelligence on us.”
🚨 I was almost taken hostage in Cuba…
I went to Cuba to document the humanitarian crisis and show life under 60+ years of communism and now amid the US blockade. Once I landed, they seized all my cameras except my iPhone and had intelligence agents following me all day until… pic.twitter.com/6VFQCOakGZ— Nick shirley (@nickshirleyy) May 4, 2026