Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara Publishes Testimony from Prison in The New York Times

April 25, 2026

Cuban artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, imprisoned at the maximum-security Guanajay penitentiary since 2021, published a personal testimony in The New York Times in April 2026 under the title "I Am One of Cuba's Political Prisoners. When Will I Be Free?," in which he recounts his experience behind bars and demands his release.

In the piece, Alcántara describes the conditions of his imprisonment and calls his incarceration "another one of my performances — but one that should have ended long ago." Recognized as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, he recalls that on April 7 the Criminal Chamber of Cuba's Supreme Court rejected an appeal filed on his behalf and upheld his sentence through July 9, 2026. He also notes that a government announcement about the release of more than 2,000 prisoners does not include him, since the amnesty excludes those convicted of "crimes against authority."

Otero Alcántara also warns about tightening controls on public expression in Cuba, citing the approval of a new Penal Code and the Social Communication Law, and stating that "a single anti-government post on social media can send a person to prison."

Leader of the San Isidro Movement, Otero Alcántara was arrested during the historic popular protests of July 11, 2021, and sentenced in June 2022 to five years in prison on charges of contempt, insult to patriotic symbols, and public disorder. His case has received widespread international attention: in 2025 he was awarded the Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent. The publication of his testimony in The New York Times was covered by 14ymedio, Diario de Cuba, and other independent Cuban media outlets.