On Friday, dissident punk rocker and artist Gorki Aguila was supposed to board a flight to Mexico, but State Security agents arrested him when he arrived at the airport and his whereabouts are currently unknown. According to reports, Aguila was accosted by agents and told he could not leave the island because he was “regulated,” a term used by the communist regime for individuals, primarily dissidents, who are prohibited from traveling outside of Cuba.
Via Martí Noticias (my translation):
Gorki Aguila arrested at the Jose Martí airport: The dissident punk rocker is prohibited from traveling
Authorities detained Gorki Aguila, leader of the dissident rock band Porno para Ricardo, in Havana on Friday and notified him he is “regulated,” meaning he is prohibited from leaving the country.
The artist was arrested at the José Martí International Airport after being prohibited from leaving the country and informed he is “regulated” without cause, reported the organization Estado de Sats on the X platform. “There have been countless violations of Human Rights that he has suffered in recent years,” they said.
“As of 9 pm, there is no information about his status and whereabouts,” Estado de Sats added.
Journalist Luz Escobar and musician Ciro Díaz (of Babosa Azul) also denounced the detention on Facebook.
Photographer and human rights activist Claudio Fuentes commented on social media that Gorki was detained around 4 pm and that the musician had planned to travel to Mexico.
“After being informed that he could not travel because he is REGULATED, he was arrested by Castro State Security, and we still do not know his whereabouts,” Fuentes said.
“The Cuban socialist tyranny has detained Gorki. Everyone knows about his frankness, about calling things as they are, without mincing words or half measures. Through his art, he has become an icon of Cuban punk. He must be released immediately. Let’s share!” declared independent journalist Yoe Suárez on the X platform.
Gorki’s recent activities
Gorki Aguila was part of the Cuba Program at the Bogotá International Book Fair (Filbo), which took place from April 17 to May 2. He provided the images of the program’s stand, where a stance of denunciation was presented regarding Cuban political prisoners. It was the third time the Cuba Program participated in the Bogotá book fair.
In early May, Cuban artist Lía Villares, residing in the United States, announced she will use a grant from the Mellon Foundation to work on a documentary that begins with Gorki Aguila, but could not be completed due to State Security interference in 2018.
The future documentary includes a first chapter that the artist made with Gorki, which managed to be saved from a State Security raid because it had been previously sent to the New York Film Academy.
On February 24, “La Renunciación” was premiered on YouTube, an audiovisual directed by Cuban actress Lynn Cruz along with her project Teatro Kairos LCAP, and scored by Gorki.
“La Renunciación is based on a deliberately anonymous poem — its author chose not to sign it — read on social media last November, while the arbitrary trial against Professor Alina Bárbara López Hernández was taking place. It was then scored by the independent recording studio La Paja Recold, directed by Gorki Águila. Now, Lynn and Teatro Kairos decided to turn it into a music video and dramatization,” reported the La Hora de Cuba media outlet.
Over the years, Gorki has strongly criticized the regime and as a consequence has been imprisoned, prosecuted, and regulated on several occasions. Organizations such as Artists at Risk Network, CADAL, and Amnesty International have denounced the harassment he has endured.