Cuban activist Luis Manuel Otero speaks out as hunger‑strike protests intensify

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, a co‑founder of the San Isidro Movement, arrived in Miami on July 18 after a five‑year imprisonment in Cuba. In an interview he said he chose transparency about the special treatment he received because “honesty matters,” stressing that his experience should not be taken as representative of all Cuban political prisoners. He also highlighted the continued detention of fellow activist Maykel Osorbo, who remains in Guanajay prison despite being granted U.S. humanitarian parole.

At the same time, Cuban dissident Guillermo del Sol has been on a 40‑day hunger strike in his home in Santa Clara, demanding the release of 18 political prisoners. His health is deteriorating, and other inmates—including Roilán Álvarez Rensoler, José Ramón Solano Randiche and Manuel Velázquez Licea—have also begun hunger strikes to protest prison conditions and government repression.