Cuban MMA Champion Javier "Spiderman" Martín Detained After More Than a Week of Protest in Havana

April 25, 2026

Cuban mixed martial arts (MMA) champion Javier Ernesto Martín Gutiérrez, known as "Spiderman," was detained on April 24, 2026, by State Security agents in the Marianao municipality of Havana, after more than eight days of public, peaceful protests in which he denounced the country's social situation.

According to witnesses and family members who spoke to Martí Noticias, a group of plainclothes agents intercepted the fighter on 90th Street, between 41st and 43rd, near the Jesús Menéndez sports complex, beat him, and transported him in an unmarked vehicle. He was taken to Villa Marista, the headquarters of State Security in Havana.

Martín Gutiérrez, champion of the Cuban Fighting League in the 135-pound division, had begun his protest from the balcony of his home on 31st Avenue, facing the El Lido terminal. He was motivated by the situation facing Cuba's children and youth — including the growing use of a street drug known as "el kímico" and rising street violence. In live videos streamed on social media that went viral, he denounced inequality and the island's economic crisis: "Women are scavenging through garbage and children are eating from trash, while some people have everything. There is no equality, not even in poverty," he said.

In the days before his arrest, the fighter warned that State Security agents were harassing his mother at her workplace and posted footage of agents' motorcycles stationed outside his home. His sister Yonexi Gutiérrez, a former political prisoner now living outside Cuba, raised the alarm about his isolation: "He's been alone for a week. He has support from outside, but inside Cuba he has no one."

Martín's wife, Lisandra Cuza, confirmed via an audio message to Martí Noticias that authorities informed the family they would be allowed to visit him on Wednesday, April 29. His mother, Lourdes Gutiérrez, went to the Sixth Police Unit in Marianao to inquire about her son's whereabouts and denounced both the mistreatment during his arrest and the lack of official information.

The case of Javier "Spiderman" Martín generated widespread international attention and was covered by outlets including 14ymedio, Martí Noticias, and Telemundo Miami, among others.