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A phrase written in black letters on a blue wall shook the town of Santa Marta, in the municipality of Cárdenas, province of Matanzas this Friday: "Down with the dictatorship", visible to anyone passing by.
The graffiti appeared on First Avenue, between 8th and 9th Streets, in front of the establishment known as El Latino, in the early hours of the morning, and quickly began to circulate on social media, generating comments among residents of this community of about 12,000 inhabitants.
The authorities' reaction was swift: hours later, agents placed a white sheet over the wall in an attempt to cover the message, although the images had already spread widely.
But the censorship did not stop there. The police later appeared to paint over the graffiti and in its place left a new message: “No one gives up here, damn it.”
Journalist Christian Arbolaez, who documented the incident, stated that "regardless of any political stance, it is unfortunate to see authorities using crude language and that type of discourse in public spaces."
The gravest incident resulting from the graffiti was the arrest of dermatologist Sordey Ballester Horta, a resident of Santa Marta.
According to the reports published on Facebook, the woman was at a bus stop waiting for the bus to the hospital in Cárdenas, where she works, when she took a photograph of the sign.
Soon after, several officers detained her. When she asked them the reason, the response she received was that she was "in the wrong place at the wrong time."
At the time of the reports, Dr. Ballester Horta was still detained at the local police unit. Those who know her describe her as a calm, Christian woman who "doesn't get involved with anyone."
The incident is not isolated. In Manzanillo, in May 2025, young people who painted slogans against the regime received fines of 10,000 Cuban pesos, and one of them, Yongel Quiala, was held in custody for several days.
In Santiago de Cuba, in November 2025, several citizens were detained for painting graffiti with slogans such as "Down with the dictatorship" and "Homeland and Life."
The context in which this episode occurs is one of growing tension in Cuba. One day prior, on May 14, the U.S. Embassy in Havana issued a Security Alert for its citizens, amid widespread protests in various neighborhoods of Havana and Santiago de Cuba linked to the worsening energy crisis.
Irma Lidia Broek, who also shared the images, summed up the feelings of many: "They may cover the wall, but they cannot hide the hunger for freedom of a people."
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