Cuban MMA fighter Javier Martín Gutiérrez challenges regime from prison

Javier Martín Gutiérrez, a former Cuban Fighters League MMA champion known as ‘Spiderman’, has issued a defiant letter from the Combinado del Este high-security prison in Havana. In the letter addressed to his prosecutor, Gutiérrez challenges the legality of his detention and denounces the Cuban government.

The athlete alleges he was ‘abducted’ by plainclothes officers on April 24 following peaceful protests from his balcony regarding food shortages and power outages. He claims he was physically assaulted by several officers during his arrest. Despite undergoing 22 days of investigations—including toxicology, mental health, and foreign funding probes that all returned negative results—he was placed under preventive detention on May 25.

Gutiérrez rejects charges of disturbing public order, asserting that his arrest is a response to his criticism of the country’s socioeconomic decline. He contrasted the speed of his prosecution with the government’s perceived inaction regarding local crime, such as drug issues and violent robberies in his community. He concluded his message by stating he would not change his principles or ideology.