Miami, November 12, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Cuban government to drop all charges against content creator and YouTuber Eddy Ceballos, who has been jailed since June 1 on allegations of espionage connected to his satirical videos.
Ceballos was arrested after visiting an abandoned radar and missile site in the capital Havana’s southwest and posting several clips about its state of disrepair on his YouTube channel, Despingovery Channel. His videographer, Christian Rodríguez, was also arrested and remains detained.
“The idea that satirical commentary could be considered a subversive threat to the state is preposterous,” said José Zamora, CPJ’s regional director for the Americas. “In a country where independent media is scarce and frequently suppressed, content creators like Eddy Ceballos and Christian Rodríguez play an important role in informing the public. The Cuban government should immediately release Ceballos and Rodríguez, and drop all charges against them.”
The case of Ceballos and Rodríguez is only the latest example of intensified pressure by the government on non-traditional media. Last month, 21-year-old influencer Anna Sofía Benítez was sentenced to two years of “restricted freedom” for filming a Ministry of the Interior (MININT) agent delivering a summons in plain clothes.
Ceballos and Rodríguez have been held in provisional detention at Havana’s Combinado del Este prison since their arrest, according to Ceballos’ mother, Marieta Pérez Alfaro.
A lawyer for Ceballos informed the family that he is being investigated for espionage-related charges by military prosecutors and faces 7–15 years in prison if found guilty, she told CPJ.
From behind bars, Ceballos has publicly denied the accusations, via his mother’s Facebook page.
Before his arrest, Ceballos had faced issues with state security and received warnings to stop producing content. “He fits the profile of the artists and creators whom the state seeks to silence—essentially trying to end their careers,” Pérez Alfaro said.