Repression in Cuba continues to extend towards the younger and more creative sectors of the country. This time, the targets have been two urban artists: Carlos Alejandro Campos Cruz, 20 years old, and Ernesto de Jesús González Fleitas, who has not yet turned 18.
Both were summoned by State Security and subjected to interrogations and threats after releasing a trap song in which they harshly criticized the recent rate increase by the Cuban Telecommunications Company (ETECSA).
The topic, which has gone viral on social media, reflects the public sentiment regarding the economic abuse represented by ETECSA's new pricing scheme.
In their lyrics, the youth highlight the disproportionate cost of internet access, mock the price of data packages, and criticize the fact that many services now require payments in dollars or through top-ups from abroad.
"I'll trade my house for a data package / And an hour on Nauta Hogar for this pair of shoes," says one of the lines from the song 'ETECSA HOODTRAP', which has gone viral among young people and Cuban users of social media.
After posting the video on their social media, the two youths were arrested and treated as criminals merely for expressing themselves, journalist Mario J. Pentón reported during a live broadcast.
According to neighbors who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, State Security agents violently arrested them and took them to a police unit, where they were interrogated and threatened. Furthermore, in a clear attempt to intimidate them and silence their voices, they were warned that they would be held responsible for any incident that occurred within the state-owned enterprise.
This event is not isolated. It occurs amid a growing social unrest triggered by ETECSA's rate hike, which has been heavily criticized by users both inside and outside the country. Since its approval, various sectors of civil society have expressed their dissatisfaction with the new prices. Academics, activists, artists, and even university groups have raised their voices.
The University Student Federation (FEU) of the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Havana issued an unusual statement expressing its rejection of the measure, labelling it as "exclusive and elitist".
The discontent has even forced the authorities to speak out. The president of ETECSA defended the increase with an argument that further inflamed users' anger, stating that there is a “market abroad” interested in maintaining communication with their relatives in Cuba.
For her part, the Minister of Communications stated that the opinions of the public were “being evaluated”, although she did not provide concrete measures to reverse the rate increase.
Meanwhile, the threats against Campos Cruz and González Fleitas confirm the pattern of systematic repression against artistic and youth dissent. This is not the first time that the Cuban regime has tried to silence criticism through police harassment.
In recent years, dozens of independent artists and creators have been subject to arbitrary detentions, illegal summons, and campaigns of defamation by the state media.
In this context, social media and the free press in exile have become the main refuge for denouncing these abuses. The case of these young people has sparked a wave of solidarity among users, artists in exile, and human rights organizations, who demand an immediate halt to police harassment and guarantee the right to free expression.
The Cuban dictatorship, Pentón pointed out, is not afraid of foreign weapons, but of the brave young people who dare to speak the truth. With a song recorded under precarious conditions, Carlos and Ernesto managed to highlight the incoherence of a system that demands sacrifices from a people living between blackouts, hunger, and censorship.
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