Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara’s health has deteriorated significantly in Guanajay prison.
14ymedio, Havana, 9 September 2025 — Political prisoner José Daniel Ferrer remains “under threat of death” in Mar Verde prison in Santiago de Cuba, where he is being held. This Monday, Ana Belkis Ferrer, the activist’s sister, denounced on Facebook that the leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) is at risk of “being subjected to the same cruel and extreme torture as in July and August.”
Last Friday, prison authorities allowed a conjugal visit to Nelva Ortega, Ferrer’s wife, for September, after denying them family visits the previous week. According to Ortega, the activist “continues to be in the same overcrowded space prepared for his torture, without receiving proper medical care.” It was also reported that the unit houses a dangerous individual known as Caney, whom she described as “one of the main criminals serving the dictatorship.”
She mentioned that Ferrer had “a persistent cough, earache, skin lesions caused by fungus, insect bites and a high temperature, as well as an infection in his big toe.” The activist remains “thin and pale, even though for some weeks now they have been taking him out in the sun two or three times a week.”
The UNPACU leader, “brutally tortured” in prison, as the NGO Prisoners Defenders reported last July, has no access to food, “because they continue stealing it, as well as hygiene products.” He also has no drinking water because of “the shortage throughout the prison,” so Ferrer tries to “survive with what a few sympathetic inmates can offer him to eat.”
Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara suffers from chikungunya, fever, diarrhea and severe weakness.
Artist and political prisoner Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is in a delicate health situation in the Guanajay prison, Artemisa, after an outbreak of the epidemic. In a phone call on September 9, he informed activist Yanelys Núñez that he suffers from chikungunya, fever, diarrhea and severe weakness, and that he has waived his monthly family visit in protest.
There has been no news of him since August 21, increasing concern for his well-being in a context of harassment, abuse and inhumane prison conditions. Several organizations emphasize that the Cuban regime is responsible for his life and integrity and denounce the lack of access to medicines and medical care in the country’s prisons.
Likewise, Ferrer’s treatment in prison has been denounced, including by the U.S. State Department. Last July, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanded proof of life from the Cuban regime for the opposition figure, following several allegations of torture in prison.
The Cuban regime continues to torture democracy activist José Daniel Ferrer. The United States demands immediate proof of life and the release of all political prisoners,” Rubio wrote at the time on his X account.
Unpacu was designated a “terrorist organization” by the Cuban regime.
Ferrer’s entourage has also suffered harassment by the regime. On September 1, UNPACU was designated a terrorist organization by the Cuban regime. In an open letter, the NGO denounced “a serious political manipulation, devoid of legal or historical basis, whose sole purpose is to discredit and criminalize a peaceful civic movement that, since its founding in 2011, has worked to promote human rights through humanitarian work, civic education and dignity for all Cubans.”
In its message, the union also demanded “as a priority” the “immediate” release of Ferrer and all political prisoners.
A month earlier, on July 1, Nelva Ortega was arrested for a few hours while demanding proof of life for the activist.
Last January, José Daniel was released from prison as part of the Vatican-brokered agreement with the U.S. to release 553 inmates, most of whom were common prisoners. However, in April, the Supreme Court revoked his release, arguing that he “did not comply with the measures imposed on him.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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