The rapper and Cuban political prisoner Maykel Osorbo has sent a message of strength to those who have been concerned about him during his hunger strike in the Kilo 8 prison, near the 5 y medio jail, where he was detained, in Pinar del Río. In an audio recorded from the penitentiary, he asked activist Anamely Ramos to let his followers know "that we are still connected."
"People know how I am. There are some who, when you strike them, soften. Others, when you strike them, become harder. If that weren't the case, there wouldn't have been a Nelson Mandela, there wouldn't have been a Malcolm X, there wouldn't have been many people. Let all my followers know that we remain connected. I don't like to be mistreated. If someone mistreats me, I take action. No violent measures. We remain connected. There’s no other way."
Regarding Maykel Osorbo's words, Anamely Ramos wrote on her social media that "they are, and always will be, of resistance, of continuing to fight, of overcoming time. And of peaceful actions, even if that may seem absurd to some when it comes from his mouth. If Maykel is alive today, it is because he has triumphed over violence, not only with courage but also with intelligence and a noble heart."
At this time, as Anamely Ramos mentioned to CiberCuba, Maykel Osorbo's father is trying to arrange for his son to be seen by an orthopedic specialist outside of prison to receive treatment for intense pain in his arm, which could be related to the ligament that connects the clavicle to the shoulder. For now, she has urgently sent painkillers to help with the fluctuating pain that varies in intensity.
After ending his six-day hunger strike (and not eight, as initially expected due to the lack of news) through which Maykel Osorbo protested against a potential transfer to a prison in Eastern Cuba, which would pose an additional challenge for the family members who visit him, he found upon his return to 5 y Medio that all the inmates in his cell had been changed. "Right now, Maykel is surrounded by strangers, possibly informants. Maykel's words were: it’s better that they put me in a hole once and for all," wrote Anamely Ramos.
The repressors monitoring him in prison conveyed to Maykel their discomfort knowing that his health, life, and what happens to the rapper continues to concern Cubans both inside and outside the Island.
Maykel Osorbo was sentenced in May 2022 to nine years in prison, of which he has served four. He was imprisoned for "affecting the honor and dignity of the highest authorities in the country" by digitally manipulating images that he made public on social media and for conducting live broadcasts from his Facebook profile "to dishonor the role of law enforcement agents in society."
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