Artist Detained In Cuba Over Fidel Video Ahead Of Art Basel
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Cuban dissident artist Danilo Maldonado, known as "El Sexto," was scheduled to take part in Art Basel Miami but remains detained in Cuba.
Maldonado was detained by Cuban authorities Saturday after posting a video on Facebook, mocking Fidel Castro's death, according to our news partners at the Miami Herald.
In the 7-minute video, Maldonado refers to Castro as yegua (mare) and asks for the public to celebrate the former Cuban leader's death.
"We need people to come out to the streets...and ask for liberty," someone is heard saying in the Spanish video.
He also criticizes those faking sadness over Castro's death.
To end the video, he sprays "El Sexto" onto a wall at the Hotel Habana Libre where Castro had taken up temporary residence back in 1959 after his triumphant march into Havana.
Maldonado's relatives said he is being held without charges at a police station outside of Havana - in the municipality of Guanabacoa. They are characterizing his detention as an "abduction" by State Security.
Maldonado, 32, first got widespread international attention back in 2014 when he featured two pigs painted in green with the name "Fidel" and "Raul" as a reference to the Castro brothers.
