The father of Eduardo "Eddy" Ceballos, creator of the satirical channel Despingovery Channel, made his first appearance on social media to share firsthand the family's initial visit to the young man, who is detained at the Eastern Combined High-Security Penitentiary in Havana.
The family took two days to be able to see him and bring him toiletries and basic food items. In the end, the authorities only allowed two people to enter: the mother, Marieta Pérez Alfaro, and the wife, Daniela. The father had to stay outside.
"According to what is unconventional, the goal was for them to see it, and Marieta and Daniela succeeded," said the gentleman, visibly moved, in the video shared on Facebook by independent journalist Ernesto Morales.
According to her account, Marieta informed him that Eduardo, upon seeing his mother enter the prison, felt "very sad" to see her in that situation. However, the family describes him as "very strong" and possessing an "unbreakable dignity."
From within, Eduardo sent a written message to his father: "Daddy, take good care of your health because I need you strong. Take care of your health because I need you to be as strong as you have always been."
His son's words reversed the roles that the father expected to take on: "I thought that in earlier moments of life I had been an example for him. But now I am convinced that at this moment, he is my great example to follow. With his dignity."
Eduardo himself described the Combinado del Este as "the antechamber of hell, a place of great suffering, much suffering," according to his mother after the visit.
The father closed his message with a promise: "Eduardo Ceballos, my son, is my leader, the leader of my heart. There is much pain, a lot, but I have great strength for my son."
He also expressed gratitude for the support received: "We are in a very difficult situation in this country. And we have received support. We know that we are not alone," he said, acknowledging the solidarity of people "around the world."
Eddy Ceballos, content creator and comedian, was arrested on June 1 during a large police operation in the Diez de Octubre municipality of Havana, without the officers allowing him to enter his home or notify his wife.
The trigger was the publication on Instagram of a video in which he explored an abandoned military facility with Soviet missiles from the 1960s, radars, and Cold War bunkers.
Authorities informed the family that he would be charged with "invasion of military property," a charge that Cubalex claimed has no basis in current Cuban legislation. Lawyer Alain Santana described the detention as "a flagrant violation of the principle of legality" and noted that the formal charges were not presented within the legal timeframe of 24 hours.
An anonymous source cited by Martí Noticias warned that Ceballos could face a military court for "revealing secrets concerning State Security," with penalties ranging from four to ten years of imprisonment.
Last Tuesday, the mother publicly denounced that she had been unable to see her son for a week since his arrest, with the authorities not even allowing her to deliver basic hygiene items.
The case fits into a systematic pattern of repression against digital creators in Cuba.
The comedian Ulises Toirac reacted to the arrest stating that "the laws in Cuba are a sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of comedians."
Despingovery Channel went viral in 2025 for its parodies of nature documentary style, in which Ceballos narrated with a pseudoscientific tone the potholes, destroyed streets and ruins of Cuba as if they were natural wonders worthy of academic study.
Among its most memorable episodes are those dedicated to the potholes of Havana - ironically classified as "the suspension massacrator" or "the lagoon of Cuatro Caminos" - and the visit to the ruins of the Instituto Superior de Arte, where he described the location as "catacombs of the ISA, a city of disillusionment that captivates."
Since last April, Ceballos had expanded his activities by starting to collaborate with the independent Cuban media CubaNet, where he produced humorous content about the everyday reality of the Island.
Reporters Without Borders ranks Cuba 160 out of 180 countries in its 2026 World Press Freedom Index. In January of this year, there were 69 arbitrary detentions of journalists on the Island, an increase of 430% compared to the same month in 2025.
Ceballos had anticipated his arrest weeks in advance by recording a preventive video with instructions to make it public if he was detained. In it, 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 revealing the true nature of the government of Cuba."
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