A YouTuber has spoken out after he was allegedly almost taken hostage in Cuba.
As President Donald Trump's blockade cut off Cuba's supply of oil and gas, the island has been in a state of crisis. The situation has drawn increasing international attention, yet independent reporting from within the country remains extremely difficult due to its strict communist rule.
Cuban law prohibits journalism without state approval, and those who attempt to document life on the island without government oversight do so at their own risk.
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However, independent news journalist and YouTuber Nick Shirley reportedly tried to expose the situation in the Caribbean, leading him to be 'almost taken hostage.'
Shirley says he travelled to Cuba with the intention of documenting the island's worsening humanitarian situation, including severe shortages of fuel, food, and electricity that have left Cubans struggling.
According to his account, authorities at the airport seized his cameras, GoPros and gear, leaving him with only a microphone concealed beneath his shirt and his iPhone.
Taking to X, Shirley posted a video explaining his situation.
"We are currently being held by Cuban intelligence here in Havana, Cuba," he said.
He alleged that agents had followed his team throughout the day before stationing themselves outside his hotel 'where they waited all night for us to come down.'
The content creator claimed he went to Cuba to 'document the humanitarian crisis and show life under 60+ years of communism and now amid the US blockade,' following the Trump administration's actions against Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
In his video, he described scenes he claimed to have witnessed first-hand.
“Right now you currently have surgeons doing operations with flashlights because there's no power [...] in the hospitals," Right now I'm in the only hotel in Havana that has 24-7 electricity because this is the only one that has that access," he said in the video.
He added that he encountered people going hungry on the streets and said the situation is 'much worse than anyone knows.'
Due to the country's ban on independent reporting, Shirley found him and his team in a sticky situation where they 'have to figure out how we're going to escape.' In the video, he said his team are considering going to the US embassy or find early flight options.
Not everyone has taken Shirley's account at face value, however, especially given his support for Trump.
Some viewers were sceptic about the nature of the trip and his motivations for making it.
"i obviously don’t believe this even a little bit but it’s ominous that this medically stupid d***head is going to cuba to manufacture propaganda for what i assume will be additional us intervention," one user posted in response to his video.
Shirley has pushed back at the doubters, writing: "Tell that to the 2 star general who waited all night for me to come out of my hotel room to interrogate me," alongside an image of a Cuban guard.