The Cuban comedian and reggaeton artist La Crema (Luis Alberto Vicet Vives) published a video on Facebook demanding freedom for Eddy Ceballos, the creator of the satirical channel Despingovery Channel, who was arrested last Monday in Havana during a large police operation.
"It seems to me a complete injustice what they have done to this great comedian, brother, family man, who has only done one thing—make his audience laugh," declared La Crema in the one minute and six seconds video.
The artist issued a direct warning to all content creators on the Island: "At the rate we're going, it won't be possible to make humor in Cuba."
To support its claim, La Crema referenced a quote from José Martí: "Humor should be a whip with bells at the tip."
The video also included a direct denunciation of the regime: "It is incredible how terrified the communists are of the truth. Cuba is a country where human rights are violated, where there is no freedom of expression, where you are repressed for thinking differently, and where you are silenced for speaking the truth."
The artist concluded his message with a declaration of solidarity: "Eddy, my brother, you are not alone. Your people are with you."
Ceballos was arrested on Monday near his home in Havana without the agents allowing him to enter his house or notify his wife, amidst a large display of motorcycles.
The trigger was the Instagram post showcasing a preview of an episode in which Ceballos explored an abandoned military installation with Soviet missiles from the 1960s, radars, and Cold War bunkers in an advanced state of disrepair.
The authorities informed the family that he would be prosecuted for "military property invasion," a charge that does not exist in any Cuban penal code, according to the Cubalex lawyer Alain Santana.
"Accusing and depriving a citizen of their liberty based on a non-existent criminal charge constitutes a blatant violation of the principle of legality," stated Santana.
A relative of Ceballos stated anonymously: "The instructor told us he will be processed, but we still can't see him. We haven't even been able to provide him with hygiene. We really don't know how he is."
Weeks before his arrest, Ceballos had recorded a video with instructions to make it public if he was detained, and the independent journalist Ernesto Morales released it that same Monday.
In that pre-recorded video, Ceballos stated: "What is happening to me is a total injustice, as I have never spoken negatively about any political entity, and yet they have tried to silence me through confinement."
The case fits into a pattern of systematic repression against digital creators: members of El4tico were detained in Holguín in February, and in March, State Security interrogated the mother of the YouTuber Anna Bensi as a means of pressure.
The comedian Ulises Toirac also reacted to the arrest with a phrase that encapsulates the atmosphere that Cuban comedians face: “The laws in Cuba are a sword against humorists.”
Filed under: