Where Is Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara?

Hyperallergic reported that Cuban artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara was not released when his five-year sentence ended on July 9, and that his whereabouts remain unknown after State Security agents removed him from Guanajay Prison on Tuesday, July 7. Human rights organizations characterized his situation as a forced disappearance, and activist Anamely Ramos said she received a July 9 call in which Otero Alcántara, on speakerphone and apparently surrounded by security agents, said he could not disclose his location while asking about his request to enter the United States. Otero Alcántara was arrested in July 2021 after joining nationwide protests, and US officials have repeatedly cited his case; the article notes that on Monday, July 6, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Walz displayed a photo of him during a debate about the US embargo. The report adds that Otero Alcántara has publicly expressed willingness to accept exile in the US since 2024 and that a humanitarian parole application was submitted to the US Embassy weeks before his sentence ended.

Read the full article at Hyperallergic