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Emilio Frías, director of the orchestra El Niño y La Verdad, denounced the silence of Cuban artists living in Cuba regarding the case of activist Anna Bensi, whom he compared to a "Modern Mariana" and defended with a quote from José Martí.
In a Facebook post, Frías accompanied photographs of the young woman with the words of the national hero: "When there are many men without decorum, there are always others who embody the decorum of many men. In those men there are thousands of men, an entire people, the dignity of humanity."
The musician was direct in his criticism: "None of the great artists that Cuba has living in Cuba have even spoken out against what this young woman is experiencing—abuse, persecution, and arbitrary actions—and this is no longer politics, it's humanity, it's love for your people."
Frías particularly targeted those who justify their silence with the phrase "I am a musician, I don't talk about politics," and he bluntly labeled them: "These artists are disgusting".
Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente, known as Anna Bensi, is 21 years old, a YouTuber and activist residing in Alamar, Havana.
The repression against her began on March 10, when she recorded and published the moment when the sub-official of MININT, Yoel Leodán Rabaza Ramos, delivered an irregular summons to her and her mother, Caridad Silvente.
In a reversal of legal logic, Cuban authorities accused the two women —not the official— of violating privacy, under Article 393 of the Penal Code, with penalties ranging from two to five years in prison.
On March 25, both were charged and placed under house arrest with a prohibition on leaving the country.
On Monday, Anna was subjected to a trap interrogation at the Alamar police station, where three counterintelligence agents attempted to recruit her for over two hours, offering to boost her music career in exchange for her abandoning her activism: "That dream can come true, Sofía. That dream is in your hands; it only depends on you. We can help you with that."
Anna categorically rejected the proposal: "I will never work for a dictatorship". After leaving the station, she stated: "It was all a trap to interrogate us and try to intimidate us".
On April 9, the American diplomat Mike Hammer, head of the United States Embassy mission in Cuba, visited Anna and her mother in Alamar and stated that "her only crime has been defending her beliefs, her faith".
Frías's complaint connects with the activist's own history: in February 2026, Anna released the video "Ciegos a conveniencia", where she already denounced the silence of Cuban artists and entrepreneurs who remain silent in the face of repression to avoid personal and professional costs.
The cost of artistic activism in Cuba is real: artist Leonard Richard González Alfonso was sentenced to seven years in prison in March 2026 for painting the phrase "How long will this last?", a case that illustrates the atmosphere of fear surrounding the silence that Frías condemns.
Frías knows that fear firsthand: his song "Cambio" was censored in 2022 and the orchestra was excluded from official events, which led to his exile. In February 2024, he explained his departure with a phrase that resonates now: "I couldn't keep turning a blind eye".
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