Cuba’s Minister of Culture’s Aggression Against Artists Sparks International Condemnation (Article from 2021)

14ymedio, Havana, 27 January 2021 [Readers please note, this article is from 2021 and only recently translated] — The day of arrests and protests of artists that took place this Wednesday in front of the Ministry of Culture has not taken long to receive condemnation from several international organizations, among which stands out the Cuban Observatory … Continue reading “Cuba’s Minister of Culture’s Aggression Against Artists Sparks International Condemnation (Article from 2021)”

Cuban Political Prisoner, Otero Alcantara, is Moved to a ‘Shuttered Cell and Held in Solitary Confinement’ in Guanajay Prison

14ymedio, Havana, August 5, 2022–Cuban opponent, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who is being held in the maximum security prison of Guanajay, has been transferred to a “shuttered cell and held in solitary confinement,” according to a statement published by the San Isidro Movement (MSI). During a family visit, Alcántara denounced that after determining his situation to … Continue reading “Cuban Political Prisoner, Otero Alcantara, is Moved to a ‘Shuttered Cell and Held in Solitary Confinement’ in Guanajay Prison”

Cuban State Security Used a Common Prisoner to Harass Otero Alcantara in Prison

14ymedio, Havana, 22 July 2022 — The Cuban opposition figure and artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara informed his family on Wednesday that he is suffering “harassment” by a prisoner in the Guanajay maximum security prison. According to the curator Claudia Genlui, the inmate has a 51-year sentence and State Security has instructed him “to attack Luis … Continue reading “Cuban State Security Used a Common Prisoner to Harass Otero Alcantara in Prison”

Faced with Harassment by State Security, Cuban Activist Daniela Rojo Requests Political Asylum in Germany

14ymedio, Havana, 18 May 2022 — The activist Daniela Rojo is with her two children in a refugee center in Frankfurt. The young woman, age 26, girl arrived in the German city on May 15, where she immediately requested political asylum, but she had not wanted to make it public until now. “Here, my children and I … Continue reading “Faced with Harassment by State Security, Cuban Activist Daniela Rojo Requests Political Asylum in Germany”

Activist Carolina Barrero Left Cuba, Forced into Exile by Threats of the Regime

14ymedio, Madrid, 4 February 2022 — On Thursday, Carolina Barrero became the latest case, to date, of an activist forced into exile. The art historian traveled on Thursday to Madrid after being informed by State Security that she had 48 hours to abandon the Island, according to her own account on Facebook. The activist was … Continue reading “Activist Carolina Barrero Left Cuba, Forced into Exile by Threats of the Regime”

‘The Cuban Government is Slowly Assassinating’ Otero Alcántara in Prison

14ymedio, Havana, 19 January 2022 — Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara has rejected the rights he has as a prisoner because he considers that he should not be one, according to art curator Claudia Genlui, who was able to speak with him in what he says was “his last call.” “He called to communicate, briefly but … Continue reading “‘The Cuban Government is Slowly Assassinating’ Otero Alcántara in Prison”

Threatened by State Security, Cuban Journalist Orelvys Cabrera Traveled to Russia

14ymedio, Lorey Saman, Mexico, January 3rd, 2022–Independent reporter, Orelvys Cabrera Sotolongo had to abandon Cuba “due to pressure from State Security.” The journalist, a resident of Matanzas and one of those detained during the protests on July 11th, confirmed on Monday to 14ymedio that he traveled to Russia along with his partner on December 19th. … Continue reading “Threatened by State Security, Cuban Journalist Orelvys Cabrera Traveled to Russia”

Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara: One Year Harassed by Cuban State Security

14ymedio, Havana, 26 December 2021 — Before being arrested on July 11 , without having had time to participate in the protests that day, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, leader of the San Isidro Movement (MSI), had long been subjected to permanent harassment by the political police. Specifically, since November 26, 2020, when State Security evicted … Continue reading “Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara: One Year Harassed by Cuban State Security”

Rapper Denis Solis Leaves Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, 29 Noviembre 2021 — The rebellious rapper Denis Solís, who was released from jail in July after an eight-month sentence for contempt which was decreed in a summary trial, has left Cuba. After speaking with an uncle of the artist, Vladimir Lázaro González, 14ymedio was able to confirm that the trip took place … Continue reading “Rapper Denis Solis Leaves Cuba”

Otero Alcantara Has Been Invited to Art Activities Outside Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, November 19, 2021–Artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara reaffirmed that he “would not, under any circumstances, accept exile as an option” to leave Cuba, as he made known to art curator Claudia Genlui Hidalgo, following a visit from his family at the prison where he has been held since the July 11th nationwide protests. … Continue reading “Otero Alcantara Has Been Invited to Art Activities Outside Cuba”

Cuba: ‘I brought all of Otero Alcantara’s work to the United States’

14ymedio, Havana, November 3, 2021–Art curator, Claudia Genlui, a member of Movimiento San Isidro (MSI), arrived Tuesday in Miami for an indefinite period, although she assures that her motives are personal. State Security was with her in the airport “the entire time” until the moment she boarded the plane. “There is something important that I … Continue reading “Cuba: ‘I brought all of Otero Alcantara’s work to the United States’”

‘No to the Cuban Dictatorship’s Blackmail of Offering Exile in Exchange for Freeing Political Prisoners’

14ymedio, Havana, 26 October 2021 — Maykel Castillo ‘Osorbo’ is on a hunger and thirst strike in a dungeon at the Kilo 5 and a Half prison, in the province of Pinar del Río, according to art curator and activist Anamely Ramos. After several hours of uncertainty in which the San Isidro Movement (MSI) expressed its concern about the … Continue reading “‘No to the Cuban Dictatorship’s Blackmail of Offering Exile in Exchange for Freeing Political Prisoners’”

Cuban Artist Lavastida Downplays Document Signed Under Pressure in Villa Marista: “They dictated to me what to say.”

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 29 September 2021 — This Tuesday, Hamlet Lavastida denounced that during his time in prison in Cuba he was pressured to sign documents which portrayed him as a collaborator of State Security. In an interview with writer and journalist Carlos Manuel Álvarez, conducted from Warsaw, where he flew on Saturday after … Continue reading “Cuban Artist Lavastida Downplays Document Signed Under Pressure in Villa Marista: “They dictated to me what to say.””

Cuba: Report Records Five Actions Against Foreign Currency Stores and Patrols in September

14ymedio, Madrid, 2 October 2021 — “The repression and terror” instituted by the Cuban government “fail to neutralize this new generation of dissident citizens.” The Cuban Conflict Observatory (OCC) reaches this conclusion in its latest report, made public this Friday, which includes 312 protests in September. Since September 2020, when 42 demonstrations took place, until the same month … Continue reading “Cuba: Report Records Five Actions Against Foreign Currency Stores and Patrols in September”

Cuban Artist Hamlet Lavastida is Released from Prison and Travels to Poland

14ymedio, Havana, Cuba | 26 September 2021 — Hamlet Lavastida was released this Saturday and taken to José Martí International Airport in Havana, where he boarded a plane bound for Poland. After more than three months of detention in Villa Marista prison, the artist left the island along with his girlfriend, poet Katherine Bisquet Rodríguez, … Continue reading “Cuban Artist Hamlet Lavastida is Released from Prison and Travels to Poland”