The Cuban mixed martial arts fighter Javier Martín Gutiérrez, known as "Spiderman" and a former champion of the Cuban Fighters League in the 135-pound category, published a letter from the maximum-security prison Combinado del Este in which he denounces irregularities in his criminal proceedings and openly challenges the Cuban regime.
The document, released this Sunday by Martí Noticias, is addressed to the prosecutor handling his case and represents the second known public communication from the athlete since his incarceration, this time with a distinctly political and defiant tone.
"I will not lower my head to anyone, I am not afraid! They will not break me, they will not change my principles and ideology, I remain steadfast," writes Martín Gutiérrez, drawing on the ideals of José Martí.
The athlete, residing in Marianao, Havana, was violently detained on April 24 by plainclothes officers after several days of peaceful protests from his balcony, during which he criticized power outages, food shortages, and the decline in living conditions in Cuba.
The athlete describes his arrest as a "kidnapping" and claims to have been struck on the head, neck, and other parts of his body by nearly ten officers before being taken to Villa Marista, the headquarters of State Security.
After 22 days of investigation during which toxicological tests, mental health evaluations, and inquiries into foreign funding yielded negative results, he was transferred to the Combinado del Este under preventive detention on May 25th.
In the letter, Martín Gutiérrez denies the charge of disturbing the peace and claims to have the support of his neighbors.
Additionally, it contrasts the speed with which the regime acted against him with its inaction towards real crime in his community: "Did they fix the public order disturbance on Avenida 41 El Lido? No! Did they address the drug problem? No! They say it got out of their hands. What about the violent robberies by minors? No, either!"
The athlete describes his imprisonment as a direct retaliation for speaking out: "What am I being accused of? Of being the voice of my people's suffering against the government that leads it, an island that does not shine like a pearl but instead sinks in blackouts of more than 48 hours, living under precarious conditions without water or food."
The case has gone beyond the island's borders. On August 12, the Government of the United States described Martín Gutiérrez as "unjustly detained" and called for attention to his situation, pointing out that months after his arrest, the regime still had not formally charged him publicly.
According to human rights organizations, Cuba reached a historical record of between 1,260 and 1,281 political prisoners in 2026, a figure that places the fighter's case within a systematic pattern of repression.
The athlete's family was still awaiting a trial date at the time the letter was published, while Martín Gutiérrez reaffirmed from his cell a stance that the regime has not been able to break: "I remain steadfast."
Filed under: