The cases of Eddy Ceballos, Jonais Antony Arenas, and the members of El4tico expose the opacity of the police and the use of fear against a rebellious generation.
“Eddy Ceballos sends his greetings to everyone; he knows he is not alone,” wrote his mother, Marieta Pérez, after finally seeing him this Tuesday, following days of uncertainty. The message, brief and marked by the usual difficulties—power outages, poor internet connection, and the inability to record a video—confirms that the creator of the comedy channel Despingovery Channel remains under the control of the authorities.
Ceballos’s case is similar to that of Jonais Antony Arenas Fernández, a 23-year-old from Havana who was searched for by his family in hospitals and police stations while, according to Alas Tensas, based on reports circulating on social media , he was detained. It is also similar to that of Kamil Zayas Pérez, a member of the audiovisual project El4tico, who has been imprisoned for four months in Holguín. On Tuesday, the young man sent a letter from prison denouncing that Cuba lives under a regime that has suspended “the right to be happy” and “the full enjoyment of freedom.”
The three episodes, with distinct profiles, portray the detention of citizens without clear information, without reliable institutional channels for families, and with an opacity that turns any arrest or imprisonment into an area of uncertainty and anguish.
Ceballos’ mother bids farewell “from Despingolandia and Apagonia,” a reference to the humorous and critical universe created by her son.
Ceballos was arrested on June 1st after posting a video on his channel in which he toured an abandoned military installation. In the video , presented in his usual satirical style, as if it were a Discovery Channel documentary, he showed remnants of military infrastructure, radar systems, bunkers, and military scrap, without revealing the exact location. He was arrested shortly afterward near his home.
The version circulating among family members and activists points to an accusation of alleged “invasion of military property.” Independent legal organizations have warned that this offense is not recognized as a crime under Cuban criminal law, reinforcing the claim that the arrest was arbitrary. To date, the authorities have not offered a transparent public explanation regarding the charges, the legal process, or the measure imposed on Ceballos.
His mother, who in recent days had promised to provide details in a video, explained that she hadn’t been able to do so due to electrical and internet connection problems. “Everyone here knows what’s happening with the power and the connection,” she wrote. Even so, she confirmed that she was able to see him and that he sent greetings to those who have been following the case. “And I, his mother, too,” she added, before signing off “from Despingolandia and Apagonia,” a reference to the humorous and critical universe created by her son.
The complaint described what happened as “a total lack of respect,” due to the family members’ ordeal going from place to place while the authorities denied or confused information about their whereabouts.
The case of Jonais Antony Arenas Fernández took another path, but ultimately pointed to the same problem. The young man, a resident of Santos Suárez and a cafeteria worker, had been reported missing since Friday. According to his mother’s initial testimony, he was detained near the Capri Hotel in Havana while looking for merchandise. The alleged reason was an unpaid fine.
The family received a call from Jonais at 12:20 a.m. from a police station. In that call, the young man said he had to pay 4,000 pesos for the fine. However, when his family went to look for him, they were told he had never been detained there. This contradiction turned the arrest into a de facto disappearance for the family, who began visiting hospitals and police stations without receiving a clear answer.
Journalist Niover Licea reported on his Facebook page that Jonais had indeed been detained and was recently released. The report described the situation as “a complete lack of respect,” citing the family’s ordeal of being sent from one place to another while authorities denied or provided confusing information about his whereabouts.
In the text, Zayas accuses the regime of having caused “a setback of 67 years for Cuba”
Kamil Zayas Pérez, however, remains imprisoned. A member of El4tico an independent audiovisual project based in Holguín, he was arrested on February 6 along with Ernesto Ricardo Medina in an operation that included raids and the seizure of equipment. Since then, his case has become another symbol of the offensive against young people who use social media to document the country’s crisis and challenge the government.
Four months after his imprisonment, Zayas released a declaration written from prison. In it, he accuses the regime of having set Cuba back 67 years and of perpetuating its hold on power “over a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.” The statement, released by people close to the activist, is accompanied by a logo* that, they explained, the young man had been thinking about before his incarceration.
“We, the youth, feel we are part of the present and will bear the consequences and assume the responsibilities of the time that belongs to us,” Zayas wrote. “If the right to be happy, the full enjoyment of freedom, the desire to gather, and the will to act and speak are suspended, we are becoming slaves,” he added.
The El4tico member concludes with a direct appeal to dignity and popular sovereignty: “Because a revolution is not only a right, but also a duty of citizens if circumstances require it.”
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