A query among Latino exile communities across the United States questions if Vice President Kamala Harris is a terrorist.
Since it was announced she would be replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee, many claims of her ideology have been called into question, according to the country’s largest Spanish-language fact-checker Factchequeado.
Experts say these claims play on deep-seated fears among voters who escaped regimes like Cuba and Venezuela.
In one video, Harris and her running mate Minnesota Governor, Tim Walz, appear to take a selfie in front of a Revolutionary Communists of America sign—a far-left group.
But the video is a deepfake, doctored by Trump supporters from the Dilley Meme Team. Their post racked up over 420,000 views and spread rapidly through Spanish-speaking accounts, spilling into offline conversations.
“It’s everywhere, this doubt: ‘Is this person a communist?’” cultural context strategist from south Florida, told the BBC.
While tuning in to Miami’s Spanish-language radio station La Nueva Poderosa, she heard the hosts talking about the fake meme.
“Did you see them standing in front of that picture? They have no shame in who they are,” the hosts said.
She reached out to the station to point out that the video was fake. The hosts later addressed it on air, clarifying that while the video was “not true,” they still claimed it “doesn’t take away from the reality that Kamala is a Marxist.” With nearly 36.2 million eligible Latino voters—around 14.7% of the U.S. electorate—many reside in critical swing states like Nevada and Arizona, making them a key demographic for both campaigns.
While Latino voters are far from monolithic, historically, they’ve leaned Democratic, with 44% backing Joe Biden in 2020 compared to just 16% for Trump. However, recent polls suggest Republicans have made inroads this cycle, driven by concerns over the economy, immigration, and abortion rights.
For many immigrants, today’s political climate stirs memories of the hardships they faced in their home countries. Warnings about “socialism” or “communism” resonate especially in communities with large Cuban and Venezuelan populations, such as in South Florida.
According to experts, these groups are particularly vulnerable to misinformation about communism due to the trauma they endured fleeing repressive regimes. Samantha Barrios, a Venezuelan-American Democrat in Miami, told BBC that these experiences make them more susceptible to such messaging.
She accused right-leaning Spanish media of exploiting terms like “communism” and “socialism” to “scare Venezuelans, Cubans, and Nicaraguans” by invoking “the very reason we fled our countries—to escape these regimes.”
Some critics of the Democrats argue that the U.S. government hasn’t taken a strong enough stance against political repression in places like Cuba and Venezuela. But Barrios is concerned about how these legitimate fears are being manipulated with false claims, such as portraying Harris as a communist.
Pérez-Verdía agrees but also criticizes the Democratic campaign for failing to effectively address these communities’ concerns.
“Don’t laugh off people’s fears. It’s really disrespectful. People have genuine fears, they came to the United States, they left everything behind. If they have doubts you should address their doubts.”
