Cuban Military Court Keeps Comedian Jailed on Spying Charges Over Video
CUBA · HUMAN RIGHTS
Key Facts
- —The country Cuba, an island about 145 km (90 miles) from Florida, is led by a single party, the Communist Party.
- —Why it matters A Madrid-registered rights group counted a record 1,339 political prisoners in Cuba at the end of August 2026.
- —What happened A Cuban military court has refused to review the jailing of comedian Eduardo “Eddy” Ceballos, held since 1 June.
- —The charges He is accused of espionage after filming Soviet-era missiles at an abandoned military site for his satirical channel.
- —What it means for you Cuba treats even abandoned military sites as a state-security matter, and filming them can lead to prosecution.
- —Still open No trial date has been set, and the evidence the court cites has not been made public.
A Cuban military court has kept comedian Eduardo Ceballos, 38, in jail and refused a hearing on his detention. Ceballos, known as Eddy, faces espionage charges over a satirical video he filmed at an abandoned military site in Havana.
His mother, Marieta Pérez, said in a social-media message on Monday 28 September that the ruling falsely claims he admitted guilt. 14ymedio, an independent Cuban news site, reported her statement on Tuesday.
Who Eddy Ceballos is
Ceballos is a comedian whose programme, Despingovery Channel, parodies the nature documentaries of the US cable channel Discovery. Martí Noticias, the US government-funded Spanish-language broadcaster, describes it as satire about the urban, economic and social decay of Cuba.
His YouTube channel has more than 16,600 followers, according to 14ymedio. That is almost 5,000 more than on the day of his arrest.
Before his arrest, Ceballos was the main provider for his wife and young daughter, his mother told Martí Noticias in September. The rest of the family now spends much of its time taking supplies to the prison and meeting lawyers.
The video that led to his arrest
In late May, about a week before his arrest, Ceballos published a 25-minute episode filmed inside an abandoned military installation. It showed Soviet missiles from the 1960s, radar equipment, bunkers and disused weapons.
In the clip, he jokes while touching what he calls an air-to-ground missile from the Cold War. The video drew the attention of State Security, the Interior Ministry’s security police, according to 14ymedio.
He was arrested in the capital on 1 June and later sent to Combinado del Este, Havana’s maximum-security prison. He had recorded a video in advance, to be released if he was detained, 14ymedio reported.
The charges and why they are serious
Ceballos is accused of espionage and of revealing secrets concerning state security, his mother told Martí Noticias in early September. The case is handled by military justice, not by an ordinary criminal court, even though he is a civilian.
His mother said in June that he could face up to 30 years in prison, a figure 14ymedio repeated on Tuesday. Thirty years is more than three-quarters of the life Ceballos has lived so far.
Cuba’s penal code sets 10 to 30 years in prison, life imprisonment or death for espionage, Martí Noticias noted in June. No sentence request by prosecutors has been reported.
He has rejected the charges since his detention. In a letter from prison, he called himself “an artist, not a spy”, Martí Noticias reported.
What the military court decided
The defence had asked for a “judicial control” hearing, a court review of whether the prosecution’s measures are lawful. The Cuban military court refused the hearing and declined to replace prison with a milder measure, 14ymedio reported.
The ruling, quoted by his mother, says evidence ties Ceballos to the alleged crime and he admitted this “from the first moment”. It says the defence lawyer confirmed this, and it cites the alleged harm to state security.
Earlier, a request to change the detention order and a complaint to a higher prosecutor’s office were both rejected. Every request by the defence to end his detention has been turned down so far.
What his family says
Pérez said her son gave four statements during the investigation, two of them before a lawyer had been appointed. In all four, she said, he “flatly” denied any intention to commit espionage.
She called the court’s claim of an admission “alarming and contradictory” and asked that the real case file be respected. “Justice cannot be built on distorted narratives,” she wrote, in a message quoted by 14ymedio.
His wife, Daniela Escarra, said the authorities were “manipulating information and statements” to keep the espionage charge alive. “From the first moment Eddy has declared himself innocent,” she said, in remarks carried by Martí Noticias.
What Cuban authorities say
No public statement on the case by Cuba’s government has been reported. The only official reasoning known is the court ruling, and it is known only through the family’s account.
14ymedio noted that the arrest came as Cuba’s parliament warned of a “real and dangerous threat” of direct US military aggression. Esteban Lazo, the parliament’s president, sent that warning to foreign legislatures on 27 May, teleSUR, the Caracas-based broadcaster, reported.
Cuban state media reject the label “political prisoner” for people jailed after protests. In a February 2022 opinion column, the state-run site Cubadebate called such labels part of a “semantic war” by the revolution’s enemies.
The same piece argued that those jailed after the protests of July 2021 were being punished for violence, destruction and theft. It said some people held unjustly were freed within days and others after appeals, under Cuba’s “socialist state of law”.
The government also presents prisoner releases as a humanitarian practice. On 2 April, Cubadebate reported that the government would pardon 2,010 prisoners in a “humanitarian and sovereign gesture”.
A record count of political prisoners
Prisoners Defenders, a rights group registered in Madrid, counted 1,339 political prisoners in Cuba at the end of August 2026. It calls this a record in decades, after 19 additions and seven removals in August.
The count covers people held under house arrest or other restrictions, not only those behind bars. Its list includes 155 women and 38 people detained as minors, 14 of whom are still in prison.
The report, published on Thursday 10 September, says filming state agents or protesting over water and power cuts can lead to jail. It also reports 463 prisoners with serious medical conditions.
Independent lawyers cited by Martí Noticias say Cuban courts cannot rule impartially because they follow Communist Party guidelines. The outlet notes that the National Assembly and the Council of State can elect, supervise and remove judges.
What comes next
Ceballos is expected to stay in Combinado del Este until a trial, for which no date has been set, 14ymedio reported. It is not known what legal step the defence will take next.
The case does not mean that every video filmed in Cuba is treated as a crime. It does show that the state handles sites it considers military, even abandoned ones, as a matter of state security.
No court has found Ceballos guilty of anything. Until a trial is held, he remains an accused man, not a convicted one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Eddy Ceballos?
Eduardo “Eddy” Ceballos, 38, is a Cuban comedian who makes the satirical programme Despingovery Channel. He has been in custody in Havana since 1 June 2026.
Why is a military court handling his case?
The charges of espionage and revealing state-security secrets arise from a video filmed at a military site. Cuban authorities have not publicly explained why the case went to military rather than civilian justice.
How many political prisoners does Cuba hold?
Prisoners Defenders, a Madrid-registered rights group, counted 1,339 at the end of August 2026. Cuban state media reject the label and describe jailed protesters as common offenders.
Is it risky for visitors to film in Cuba?
This case involved a military installation, which the court treated as a state-security matter. Visitors would be wise not to film military or security sites, even ones that look abandoned.
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