Why People Are Upset About the Kardashians' Recent Trip to Cuba

The Kardashian family's recent, two-day trip to Cuba to film Keeping Up With the Kardashians has unsurprisingly sparked controversy and added to the impassioned conversation about the changing island nation.

Joined by other family members and friends — like Kanye West and Malika Haqq — Kim, Kourtney, and Khloé arrived in Havana just days after Chanel's controversial presentation and documented the trip in typical fashion: with an entire film crew and selfies upon selfies. Many Cubans and non-Cubans alike, however, are criticizing the family for ultimately glamorizing the suffering nation and its oppressive regime.

Khloé was the particular target of said backlash after she posted a sultry photo, shown above, posing against a wall that reads, "Fidel" — as in Fidel Castro, the country's former communist dictator. South Florida representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has been especially vocal about her disapproval of the trip both on Twitter and elsewhere. In a statement to People, she said, "I know it's cool for celebrities to go to Cuba, but the Cuban people don't experience the glamorous Havana that is featured on social media. Far from photo shoots and fruity drinks, everyday Cubans experience a different, sad reality."

The overall problem people are having with the Kardashians' trip is that it appears to lack any understanding or acknowledgment of the nation's collective struggle and instead presents a caricatural representation that involves all the usual stereotypes: cigars, old cars, and Ernest Hemingway.

Kim hinted at this notion with an Instagram caption that read, "Being away and living in the moment having no phone service was so amazing! We felt like we stepped back into a different time period. I can't wait to go back." While limited cell reception may have been a welcome attribute for the family that maintains a constant social media presence, it isn't "amazing" to the actual inhabitants who feel cut off from the rest of the world. Ultimately, the Kardashians aren't diplomats, dignitaries, or the president of the United States, however, as one of the most visible families in the world, they carry an invariable burden to, at the very least, post responsibly — though that burden may just be too weighty for them sometimes.