Cuba: Exile of Afro-Cuban artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara underscores years of injustice

23 July 2026

Also available in Español

Following the arrival in the United States of Afro-Cuban visual artist and prisoner of conscience Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, after nearly five years of unjust imprisonment in Cuba, Amnesty International said:

“Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara’s arrival in the United States brings an end to years of unjust imprisonment and underscores the harm caused by the Cuban authorities, as well as the state’s responsibility for imprisoning him solely for exercising his human rights. Luis Manuel should never have spent a single day in prison. What he endured will remain a symbol of how the Cuban government has used the criminal justice system to punish art, dissent and freedom of expression,” said Ana Piquer, Amnesty International’s Americas Director.

Luis Manuel should never have spent a single day in prison. What he endured will remain a symbol of how the Cuban government has used the criminal justice system to punish art, dissent and freedom of expression.”