MADRID, Spain.- Alejandro Sanz joined the wave of solidarity on social networks with young people linked to the independent audiovisual project El4tico, known as “El cuartico”, after complaints circulated about his arrest in the province of Holguín. The singer shared on his Instagram stories a publication that makes the case visible and demands his release, at a time when concern is growing about the escalation of repression against creators of critical content within the Island.
Specifically, Alejandro Sanz spread a story on Instagram in which he shared a post by the user “San Memero”, originally published on The piece was shared within a digital campaign to support the project.
The dissemination of the message by the artist amplified a digital campaign that, as seen on networks, includes slogans such as “We are all El4tico” and audiovisual materials denouncing police harassment against the project. The content shared by Sanz is also part of a dynamic in which public figures and users with high visibility replicate denunciatory posts to break the information siege and increase public pressure.
Furthermore, in another story—now spread by the CubaLibreAgain and CubaGreatAgain accounts—Sanz reposted a screenshot of a message from him published in 2021 in
In that text, dated at the end of August 2021, the artist stated: “How can you call something so abusive, servile and clumsy a ‘revolution’?”, and ended with a request to “let Cuba continue”, accompanied by the hashtag #Cuba.
In parallel, other voices in the Cuban cultural sphere have reacted to the case. They have registered on social networks statements by the singer Haydée Milanés and the comedian Ulises Toirac, in comments that have revolved around freedom of expression and the right to dissent.
The context of the case points to a previous operation reported by Justicia 11J, which reported a raid on the home where the contents of El4tico are produced and the arrest of one of its members, with a lack of immediate information about their whereabouts. The complaint also warned about the risk to other members linked to the project and highlighted the pattern of state pressure against critical digital initiatives.
The case involves young people Ernesto Ricardo Medina and Kamil Zayas Pérez. The operation included searches and the seizure of work equipment used for the production of audiovisual materials. In this coverage, it has also been pointed out that the relatives tried to obtain information without clear answers and that periods of incommunication were reported, which raised alarm about violations of basic guarantees during detention.
The authorities would have opened a process with accusations associated with crimes provided for in the Penal Code—among them “propaganda against the constitutional order” and “instigation to commit a crime”—while relatives sought legal representation and appeals were filed before judicial authorities in Holguín, including a habeas corpus before the Provincial Court of Holguín.
At the international level, the case provoked public reactions from the United States Embassy in Cubawho called for the liberation of young people and respect for their rights, and also for the congressmen Mario Díaz-Balart and Carlos Giménez, who demanded his release.
El4tico presents itself as a space for social and political analysis produced from a room in Holguín and has a wide audience on Instagram, which partly explains the visibility of the case and the speed with which the complaint spread.
