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Javier Ernesto Martín Gutiérrez, the activist and mixed martial arts champion known as "Spider-Man," met with his lawyer for the first time this Monday at the Villa Marista Detention Center, the headquarters of State Security in Havana, where he made his first formal statement to the authorities four days after his arrest.
Her partner, Lisandra Cuza, went to Villa Marista with the attorney, but they were not allowed to see or talk to the detainee. "The lawyer went in directly to speak with Javi, and I stayed outside waiting; they didn't let me see him or talk to him. Javier hadn't made any statements, he hadn't spoken these days, he hadn’t clarified anything and wanted to make a statement with the lawyer. Now a process begins there that we have to wait for," the young woman explained to Martí Noticias.
According to the lawyer's information to Cuza, the investigation focuses on the protest videos published on Facebook, particularly one in which Martín Gutiérrez mentions the leader Miguel Díaz-Canel. "In one of the videos, he talked about the president of the country. They interpret that not as a threat, but as an affront to state security," he noted.
The 34-year-old athlete was arrested this past Friday on 90th Street between 41st and 43rd, in Marianao, by plainclothes officers who beat him and took him in an unmarked vehicle directly to Villa Marista, indicating that the regime is treating the case as a political matter.
Martín Gutiérrez had been protesting for over eight days from the balcony of his home on Avenue 31, where he denounced the humanitarian crisis in Cuba: “Women digging through the trash and children eating from the dumps, while some have everything. There is no equality, not even in poverty.”
The authorities have also attempted to construct a narrative regarding his mental health. Official media suggested that the detainee has undiagnosed psychiatric disorders and is currently in Villa Marista under "clinical evaluation." Cuza stated that the agents questioned her on this matter: "If he had any mental issues, if he was taking medication, if he was okay, and I told them yes, obviously he is very well, he has no problems, he is in excellent health."
This tactic follows a historical pattern of pathologizing dissent in Cuba. In 2017, the opposition figure Daniel Llorente was confined for almost a year in the Mazorra Psychiatric Hospital after protesting with an American flag in the Plaza de la Revolución, despite medical reports indicating no mental health issues.
The official site Razones de Cuba labeled the protest as a "media spectacle" and claimed that the neighbors expressed discomfort. The mother of the detained, Lourdes Gutiérrez, contradicted this: "Many found out when things started to emerge on social media."
Testimonials collected by Martí Noticias also indicate that during the days of protest, the area received continuous electricity supply, unlike the usual two hours a day, which garnered neighborhood approval.
The investigation into the videos that mention Díaz-Canel paves the way for charges similar to those faced by the musician Maykel Castillo Pérez "El Osorbo," who is currently serving a nine-year sentence for "defamation of institutions and organizations, heroes, and martyrs," a legal provision that safeguards the image of the State and its leaders.
The authorities also questioned Cuza about who was filming the videos and whether the interviews were conducted at his home or at the athlete's mother's house. Independent lawyers are currently working on drafting a habeas corpus petition in favor of the detainee, while the regime has not specified how long he will remain in Villa Marista.
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