The Cuban influencer José Ángel Molina Vale, known on social media as Chichy or @chichy813, is in the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after being arrested on Tuesday in Charlotte County, Florida, and subsequently transferred to immigration authorities.
According to the arrest records in Charlotte County, the detention occurred after a stop on an interstate highway. Molina Vale, 35 years old and born in Cuba, was booked into the county jail at 3:58 PM on two charges: possession of no more than 20 grams of marijuana and possession or use of drug paraphernalia.
The case quickly escalated. Two days after the arrest, the official ICE locator already recorded "Jose Molina-Vale," born in Cuba, as being held in federal custody in Florida. A subsequent capture from the agency's detainee search system indicates that his current detention center is the Collier County Sheriff's office.
The content creator Destino Tolk —who produces the reality shows in which Chichy participated— confirmed the news in a video posted on Instagram and revealed that he was the first person they called when the arrest occurred.
"When the police caught Chichy, I had the scoop firsthand. The first person they called was me. But I don't like that. I don't like to take advantage of that kind of situation," he explained in the video, recorded from the set where a new installment of his projects is being prepared.
Destino Tolk also mentioned that he has maintained direct communication with Chichy since his arrest, and that the influencer expressed his regret for not being able to participate in future projects: "Patrón, almost crying, I let you down, I failed you, I wanted to do the third season with you," were the words Chichy told him, according to his account.
"I have been in contact with him since he was arrested; I care about him, I appreciate him, I have a lot of respect for him, and I don't care about the situation for which he was detained," added Destino Tolk, who publicly expressed his support for the influencer.
Chichy built a substantial community within the Cuban-Latin digital entertainment circuit even before his participation in La Prisión de Destino, the second major reality show of Destino Tolk that premiered in June of this year with 21 participants.
His name was already circulating strongly in February, when fans were requesting him for a possible second season of El Rancho de Destino, the first reality show from the same producer. His Instagram account has over 85,000 followers.
The arrest of Chichy follows a pattern that has been repeated with other Cuban influencers in the United States: a local arrest for minor charges that leads to a transfer to ICE due to irregular immigration status, in the context of intensified immigration operations in Florida, where the arrests of Cubans increased by 463% between late 2024 and early 2026.
The arrest record notes that the charges do not imply guilt and that every person should be presumed innocent until a judicial conviction exists. As of this Friday, there is no judicial resolution regarding the case.
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