A Cuban resident in Valencia stood up to the pressures and threats from a notorious eviction group in Spain, led by Luis Núñez, known as Mané, who tried to force him to leave the apartment he has lived in for eight years.
"Do what you want", was the brief but firm response from the Cuban, whose voice is barely audible in the video published on social media by the leader of DesokupaCyL, a organization that operates extrajudicially to evict vulnerable individuals or those in property disputes.
In the video, Núñez records himself in front of the property while insisting repeatedly that the Cuban must leave the place in 15 days or face a "access control" that, as he explains, would consist of preventing physical entry to the premises.
The tone of the speech is openly intimidating: "I’m telling you this loud and clear so you can tell the police when you go, if you want. I’m going to give you a card and you will see who I am on social media," says Mané, while threatening to make public the face and name of the Cuban and "those who work with you, I’m going to tell your boss."
Although the man never loses his composure or resorts to violence, he stands firm and refuses to leave the apartment to speak in person, despite the attempts at manipulation and the media exposure he faces.
Who is Luis Núñez 'Mané'?
Luis Núñez is a highly controversial figure in Spain. As the leader of the group DesokupaCyL, he has gained notoriety on social media for recording and disseminating his extrajudicial eviction actions, particularly against immigrants and vulnerable families.
In January of this year, he was arrested by the Civil Guard after being reported for extortion and threats during a controversial eviction in Galicia. According to El Español, he allegedly pressured a mother with two children to leave her home while recording her without consent. The woman suffered an anxiety attack.
This case generated widespread public outrage and sparked the debate about the limits of companies operating outside the judicial system, using fear and social pressure as tools for eviction.
"What will be done will be legal," but without a court order
In the Valencia video, Mané claims that “everything he does will be legal”, although he does not present any court order for eviction. He alleges to act on behalf of the “real owner” of the property and asserts that he has reviewed the deeds, but his methods—coercion, recording, and exposure on social media—have been harshly criticized by legal experts and human rights advocates.
“I give you a few days to leave, otherwise I will put someone at the door to prevent you from coming back”, he warns, without the Cuban offering any kind of response.
This case illustrates the increasing vulnerability of Cuban migrants in Spain, many of whom find themselves trapped in informal rentals, struggling to secure legal contracts and exposed to the actions of groups operating outside the law.
While Mané turns evictions into viral content for his social media, the affected individuals are portrayed as "squatters" or criminals, even though in many cases they are families without resources, victims of scams, or suffering from a housing crisis that hits hardest those without legal documents or support.
In 2021, a report by La Sexta revealed that a network of Cubans was operating in Marbella, occupying luxury villas to extort their owners, demanding sums of up to 100,000 euros to vacate the properties. These cases, very different from those in Valencia, have fueled a criminalizing narrative that also affects those living in genuine vulnerable situations.
It's not the same profile. In Marbella, the phenomenon was that of the "professional squatter," linked to mafias and economic benefits. In Valencia, this Cuban seems more like a victim of a system that has left him on the margins, without real housing solutions, and now facing a group that threatens to turn his life into viral content.
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