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The Cuban comedian Otto Ortiz issued a message of support and resilience to his colleagues following the arrest of the creator of Despingovery Channel, Eddy Ceballos, who was detained on Monday in Havana by the Cuban regime.
In a video posted on Facebook, Ortiz reflected on the nature of humor and the situation faced by those who practice it in Cuba: “Humor itself is irreverent, defiant. It knows no boundaries. People spend their lives categorizing it, trying to frame it. And humor, in essence, violates all of that.”
Ortiz openly acknowledged the risk that Cuban humorists take: "For that very reason, we live on a tightrope where at any moment we could fall into the void."
His central message was a direct call to resistance: "Whatever happens, keep being comedians, irreverent and defiant. If you're not going to do that, don't do humor. We are still in the fight."
Ortiz's statement comes days after Ceballos was arrested on Monday in a large police operation in the Diez de Octubre municipality in Havana, without the officers allowing him to enter his home or notify his wife.
The authorities informed the family that he would be prosecuted for "invasion of military property," a charge that the Cubalex lawyer Alain Santana pointed out does not exist in any Cuban penal code, describing the situation as "a flagrant violation of the principle of legality."
According to sources cited by Martí Noticias, Ceballos could face charges in a military court under article 117.1 of the Penal Code, concerning "Disclosure of secrets related to State Security," with penalties ranging from four to 10 years in prison.
The trigger for the arrest was the posting on Instagram of a preview in which Ceballos explored an abandoned military installation with Soviet missiles from the 1960s, radar systems, and Cold War bunkers.
Ortiz was not the only one to speak out. The comedian Ulises Toirac stated that "the laws in Cuba are a sword against humorists", pointing out that their application is "as subjective as it can be."
The group La Crema also demanded the release of Ceballos and declared that "humor cannot be created in Cuba".
Ceballos himself had anticipated his possible arrest: weeks earlier, he recorded a video with instructions to make it public if he were detained, in which he stated: "If you are watching this video, it unfortunately means that I have been imprisoned, separated from my home, my family, my daughter, once again showing the true nature of the government of Cuba."
Ortiz is familiar with the regime's censorship: in December 2024, he revealed that his teleplay "Helado Tropical" was censored by Cuban television and that during his time at National Television he faced constant pressure from "too many advisors" and "a lot of people above you."
Ceballos remains confined in the Criminal Instruction Unit known as Reloj Club, in the Boyeros municipality, and his family has not yet been able to visit him or confirm his condition.
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