Cuba’s New Laws, a Strategy for the Debacle / Dimas Castellano

Dimas Castellanos, 1 July 2021 —  To improve the image of Cuban laws — outdated with respect to the international legal system — the Supreme People’s Court (TSP) submitted four preliminary drafts to the National Assembly of People’s Power for approval: Law on the Courts of Justice, Code of Proceedings, Law on Administrative Procedure and … Continue reading “Cuba’s New Laws, a Strategy for the Debacle / Dimas Castellano”

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”

Cuban Artists Otero Alcantara and ‘Osorbo’ Refuse to Appeal Their Sentence

14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 8 July 2022 — The artists and opponents Maykel Castillo Osorbo and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara refused to appeal their sentences of nine and five years in prison, respectively. In addition, the latter has announced that he began a new hunger strike – the third since he was in prison – on July 4 to demand … Continue reading “Cuban Artists Otero Alcantara and ‘Osorbo’ Refuse to Appeal Their Sentence”

Cuba’s Foreign Ministry Rejects EU’s Criticisms of the Convictions of Alcantara and ‘Osorbo’

14ymedio, Madrid, 5 July 2022 — The Cuban Foreign Ministry reacted this Monday, more than a week late, to the European Union’s condemnation of the sentence against the members of the San Isidro Movement, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo ’Osorbo’. The spokesman for the European External Action Service, Peter Stano, posted on Sunday … Continue reading “Cuba’s Foreign Ministry Rejects EU’s Criticisms of the Convictions of Alcantara and ‘Osorbo’”

No Cuban University Student Foresees a Fulfilling Future

14ymedio, Xavier Carbonell, Salamanca, 18 June 2022 — The majority of university students in Cuba were born between 1998 and 2003. According the Ministry of Higher Education, as reported in the newspaper Granma, preliminary enrollment for the 2021-2022 academic year was 292,507 students, distributed across Cuba’s fifty universities and 113 majors. The most prestigious schools, … Continue reading “No Cuban University Student Foresees a Fulfilling Future”

Otero Alcantara and Maykel Castillo ‘Osorbo’ Sentenced to Five and Nine Years in Prison

14ymedio, Havana, 24 June 2022 — There is now a sentence in the trial against the artists Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo Osorbo, held on May 30 and 31 in Havana. In a statement made public this Friday by the Attorney General’s Office, the People’s Municipal Court of Central Havana reported that the sentence for Alcántara is … Continue reading “Otero Alcantara and Maykel Castillo ‘Osorbo’ Sentenced to Five and Nine Years in Prison”

Cuban Rapper Denis Solis is Living in Extreme Poverty in Serbia

The opposition rapper Denis Solís, a former prisoner of conscience recognized by the United Nations, and subsequently forced into exile, is in a situation of extreme poverty in Novi Sad, Serbia, where he has lived since he left Cuba at the end of 2021. The organization Prisoner Defenders has tweeted an alert about the situation … Continue reading “Cuban Rapper Denis Solis is Living in Extreme Poverty in Serbia”

Young Daughter of Cuban Rapper Maykel Osorbos Asks the Summit to Help ‘Free Him’

EFE/14ymedio, Los Angeles/Havana | 9 Junio 2022 — The six-year-old daughter of rapper Maykel Castillo Osorbo, one of the creators of the song Patria y Vida, imprisoned for more than a year in Cuba, asked the leaders participating in the IX Summit of the Americas for help to “free” him. “Gentlemen of the Summit, I am writing to … Continue reading “Young Daughter of Cuban Rapper Maykel Osorbos Asks the Summit to Help ‘Free Him’”

In Havana, It is Not Two Men Who Are Judged, But a Symbol

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, 31 May 2022 — The last Monday of May dawned cloudy and humid in Havana. However, it was not the possibility of a shower or the difficulties of getting around in a city paralyzed by the fuel crisis that were the main features of the day. In the Court of Marianao, a … Continue reading “In Havana, It is Not Two Men Who Are Judged, But a Symbol”

Cuba: Confusion Over Andy Garcia’s Return to Prison Following his Release

14ymedio, Havana, 31 May 2022 — Andy García Lorenzo, one of the July 11 (11J) prisoners released in Santa Clara last Wednesday, was newly arrested on Monday and his situation is confusing, although, according to the latest information, his transfer to an “open regimen”* was revoked and he must return to prison. His sister, Roxana García Lorenzo, explained … Continue reading “Cuba: Confusion Over Andy Garcia’s Return to Prison Following his Release”

Arrests and Threats for Cuban Activists During the Trial of Alcantara and Osorbo

14ymedio, Madrid, 30 May 2021 — On Monday, May 30th, an impenetrable operation guarded the Tribunal in Marianao in Havana, where the first day of the trial was held for Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo Osorbo. Some witnesses who were able to attend the oral arguments relayed to 14ymedio that, based on the behavior of the Tribunal and … Continue reading “Arrests and Threats for Cuban Activists During the Trial of Alcantara and Osorbo”

Cuba: ‘No One Should be Forced to Choose Between Leaving Their Country or Facing Abusive Charges’

14ymedio, Havana, 27 May 2022 — Just four days before the start of the trial against Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo Osorbo, the international human rights organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have issued a joint statement in which, in addition to demanding once again the release of both artists, they condemn … Continue reading “Cuba: ‘No One Should be Forced to Choose Between Leaving Their Country or Facing Abusive Charges’”

The Trial of Cuban Artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara is Set for May 30

14ymedio, Havana, 23 May 2022 — More than ten months after sending him to jail, the authorities have finally set a date for the trial of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, leader of the San Isidro Movement (MSI). The trial will be this coming May 30 and 31 at the Municipal Court of Marianao, in Havana This … Continue reading “The Trial of Cuban Artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara is Set for May 30”

According to Amnesty International, Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara has Lost Sight in One Eye while in Cuban Prison

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 29 April 2022 — Cuban opponent and leader of the San Isidro Movement (MSI), Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, has lost sight in one eye in the prison where he has been held since the antigovernment protests last July, denounced NGO Amnesty International (AI) on Thursday. Erika Guevara, Director for the Americas … Continue reading “According to Amnesty International, Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara has Lost Sight in One Eye while in Cuban Prison”

Miami Hosts an Exhibition by Imprisoned Cuban Artist Otero Alcantara

EFE/14ymedio, Miami/Havana 17 April 2022 — An exhibition dedicated to the work of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, one of the leaders of the San Isidro Movement, who has been imprisoned in Cuba since last July, will open this week in Miami with the help of various institutions. “Alcantara, Artist imprisoned in Cuba,” shows the works … Continue reading “Miami Hosts an Exhibition by Imprisoned Cuban Artist Otero Alcantara”