The Cuban regime is attempting to impose a new charge on Javier Ernesto Martín Gutiérrez, the 34-year-old fighter known as "Spider-Man," for allegedly inciting the population to demonstrate, according to what his family reported to Martí Noticias after managing to visit him this Wednesday at Villa Marista, the headquarters of State Security in Havana.
His partner, Lisandra Cuza, and his mother, Lourdes Gutiérrez, were able to see him for the first time since he was violently arrested on April 24 in Marianao, when about 10 plainclothes agents beat him and forced him into an unmarked black vehicle.
The meeting was brief and under strict surveillance. "We talked about family matters, we didn't touch on the topic or anything because it's forbidden to discuss... the instructor was present the whole time," Cuza recounted.
Despite the restrictions, the athlete's partner confirmed that she observed marks on his body, consistent with the blows he himself reported to his lawyer: "I didn't understand how they grabbed me. Ten plainclothes men jumped on me, you know? They beat me."
Far from retracting, the mixed martial arts champion of the Cuban Fighting League reaffirmed his critical stances against the authorities. Cuza summarized it clearly: "They can't accuse him of anything for his way of thinking... he stated it right there: 'The president is useless here.'"
Regarding the new charge of incitement, Martín Gutiérrez responded firmly from his cell: "Why did no one go out? Because everyone is afraid, and that is the reality. And since I was not afraid, I did go out to demonstrate, but I knew it would end up like this."
The athlete had been protesting from the balcony of his home on 31st Avenue in Marianao for several days, at least since April 19, denouncing drug use, street violence, and that women and children were eating from the trash.
His sister, Yuneisy Gutiérrez, explained the young man's motivation: "It's the empathy and pain you feel when you see that there are children, as he puts it, eating from the trash."
The official site Razones de Cuba described the protest as a "media stunt" and suggested that the detained individual suffers from mental health issues, a tactic that follows a documented historical pattern of pathologizing dissent in Cuba.
Authorities questioned Cuza about whether the athlete was taking medications or had any disorders. His answer was unequivocal: "I told them he is doing very well, he has no problems, he is in excellent health."
The mother of the detained also rejected the official accounts that he was bothering his neighbors: "He has always been a very well-behaved, very polite boy. I don't understand where they are getting that from; it's untrue that the neighbors complained."
The case is framed within a systematic escalation of repression: Prisoners Defenders recorded 44 new political prisoners in Cuba in March 2026, with a total of 217 convicted for "sedition" on the island.
The family is now awaiting the formal decision regarding the charges, while Martín Gutiérrez's lawyer remains the only communication channel with the outside world since the champion was taken directly to Villa Marista following his arrest.
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