In recent days, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Cuban musician Andy García at Los Angeles International Airport, and days later carried out a similar operation at Miami International Airport to arrest another artist from our country, Degnis Bofill. Both were residing in the United States with their families and had all their documentation in order, awaiting the completion of the corresponding procedures in each case.
Andy is 30 years old and one of the most important pianists of his generation. He has been recognized by other extraordinary Cuban musicians such as Chucho Valdés and other prominent international figures with whom he has collaborated in his young professional career. He is also part of the García Brothers project, along with his brother Yandy García, also a musician.
Meanwhile, Degnis, who will turn 39 this coming September, is an acclaimed percussionist with an impeccable career that has made him a revelation in the music world, thanks to his dedication and professionalism. He has also participated in countless recordings and albums, most notably Ancestros Sinfónico by the band Síntesis, which won a Latin Grammy in 2022.
But today they are unjustly detained because of something diabolical and monstrous orchestrated by the Trump administration, openly endorsed by Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants. These two are the main architects of granting almost unlimited and unchecked power to ICE, which they have imbued with an anti-immigrant ideology unlike anything seen before in the United States.
A significant portion of U.S. civil society and human rights organizations have already denounced various violations—the cases of Degnis and Andy are examples of this, along with hundreds of extravagant and arbitrary arrests—some resulting in the deaths of innocent people.
Surprisingly, and even seemingly contradictorily, the reaction of the Cuban musicians' community in the United States could be described as inconsistent. They have not criticized ICE, nor have they condemned its fascist practices or the illegal detentions of these two musicians.
The community has limited itself to asking for prayers and expressing hope for the young men, but that's about all they've done in terms of denouncing the situation. To their credit, however, many have supported a campaign launched by Andy's brother, who, in desperation, has urged people to raise funds to cover the pianist's legal defense. The same has happened with Degnis's family, who have had to resort to similar tactics and receive financial support for similar purposes.
But the real contrast is that no Cuban musician in the U.S. has said a word about ICE's arbitrary actions, neither about the raids in which they were arrested just days apart, nor about the vulnerable status of many of their compatriots in those supposedly "free" lands.
What they did today to Degnis and Andy could happen to others, but no one has denounced anything at all. Everyone remains silent and lowers their heads.
The Cuban music community in the U.S. should abandon its cowardice on social media and publish and denounce ICE's discriminatory and sectarian practices with the same courage and enthusiasm they show when "something" happens on this side of the border and they blame the Cuban government, supposedly "in defense" of some artist.
It would be courageous for the musicians in Miami to call on ICE to release these two Cuban artists. Yes, they should address the root of the problem and not just get sidetracked with half-measures or lukewarm statements. In almost every profile—except for one that actually was—everyone writes as if Andy and Degnis were arrested for running a red light. That's not the case; they were arbitrarily detained.
As artists, they should consider that their experience of unjust imprisonment, surrounded by strangers, could have irreversible and devastating consequences, which we hope won't affect or obstruct their musical careers.
Several questions arise. Have they held ICE responsible for the potential psychological damage our musicians might suffer from their time in jail? Why aren't they demanding the same thing for them that they've historically demanded when the prison is Cuban and they don't even know the detainee?
What a cowardly silence from so many musicians in Miami!
