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Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara spoke from his cell in the Guanajay prison to USA Today in an audio interview published this Wednesday, in which he reflected on the decision he and Maykel «Osorbo» Castillo Pérez made to sacrifice their international artistic careers to use art as a tool for change in Cuba, acknowledging that this responsibility would lead them to prison.
"I am an artist and I believe both Maykel and I could be right now in New York, living our art in any reality, fighting as artists to establish ourselves in the art world, and we decided to sacrifice all that vanity," Otero Alcántara stated in the recording.
"I found, or we found, a path in art, a reason that art could change things, and therefore to use art, to put our bodies to work for change in Cuba. The responsibility as an artist, as a Cuban, is that we came imprisoned," he added.
The audio interviews were obtained by USA Today during the secret negotiations between Washington and Havana, where both artists are at the heart of the diplomatic discussions.
In the same post, Osorbo recounted from the maximum-security prison Kilo 8 in Pinar del Río the ultimatum presented to him by state security agents: "Either you want to emigrate —tell me if you want to emigrate— or you want to stay in this same situation you are in now, imprisoned until 2030."
The rapper acknowledged that no one wants to be imprisoned, stating that he has medical needs and unfulfilled life projects, but he was emphatic: "Freedom cannot be bought at any price. That is clear. I understand. I will always make that clear."
The agents' ultimatum came five days after a delegation from the State Department secretly met with Cuban officials in Havana on April 10, marking the first time a U.S. government plane had landed in Cuba since 2016. Washington demanded the release of both artists within two weeks as a gesture of goodwill.
Both accepted exile, but the deadline expired without either being released. As of this edition's closing, Otero and Osorbo remain imprisoned.
The tactic of "exile or prison" is not new for the regime. Back in October 2021, they attempted to exile both artists, an offer they publicly rejected. In 2026, the same pressure extended to other political prisoners like Félix Navarro and his daughter Saylí Navarro, who also categorically rejected it.
Otero Alcántara was arrested in July 2021 during the protests of 11J and sentenced to five years in prison. His sentence will end on July 9, 2026, although the Supreme Court denied a request for early release in April. Osorbo was arrested on May 18, 2021, and sentenced to nine years in prison.
The State Department warned following Cuba's failure to comply: "The Cuban regime must stop playing games while direct talks are taking place. They have a small window to make a deal."
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