Exiled Cuban artist Otero Alcantara has arrived in US, Rubio confirms
Cuban artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, who spent five years in prison, has arrived in the US for exile. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Cuba to free 700 political prisoners.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on Saturday that high-profile Cuban artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara has arrived in the United States, where he will live in exile. The 38-year-old artist is a co-founder of the San Isidro Movement, a group of artists and intellectuals who demanded greater freedoms in Cuba. Members of the movement have been a constant target of repression by Cuban authorities, according to Amnesty International.
Otero Alcantara was sentenced to five years in prison for insulting national symbols, contempt, and disturbing public order. Rubio said that for daring to imagine a free Cuba, the artist was harassed, detained, and imprisoned time and again, but now he is in exile.
Rubio also called for the immediate release of more than 700 unjustly detained political prisoners in Cuba. Rights groups have repeatedly urged Cuban authorities to free hundreds of political prisoners.
US economic and diplomatic pressure on Cuba has grown in recent years as tensions between the two countries have escalated. Earlier this week, the US Treasury Department sanctioned Cuba's Ministry of Tourism and other tourism-related entities—tourism is an economic lifeline for the isolated Caribbean island.
Cuba's energy infrastructure has nearly collapsed under a US-imposed oil blockade, with blackouts affecting millions across the island. Rubio stated that the Trump administration remains committed to the Cuban people's pursuit of freedom.
