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Félix Navarro, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, and Maykel Castillo Pérez (Maykel Osorbo) received the 2026 Democracy Award from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which recognized their bravery as political prisoners and dissident artists who have challenged the Cuban regime's control over public expression.
The announcement highlighted that the three Cubans have "inspired greater civic engagement and exposed the fear behind state censorship." The awards ceremony will take place in September at Mount Vernon, the historic residence of George Washington, as part of the 250th anniversary of the United States.
This year, the NED selected awardees who advocate for the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
"The yearning for freedom that gave rise to our nation 250 years ago remains one of the most powerful forces in the world," stated Peter Roskam, chairman of the NED Board of Directors. "This year's awardees embody the courage and perseverance necessary to defend those rights in their own communities."
The award, a replica of the Goddess of Democracy erected during the Tiananmen protests in 1989, has been presented annually since the founding of the NED in 1983. In October 2025, fellow Cuban José Daniel Ferrer received this same recognition, making Cuba a country with a recurring presence among the awardees.
The three activists are central figures in the movement that emerged around the protests on July 11, 2021 (11J), the largest social uprising in Cuba in decades.
Maykel Osorbo is a co-author of "Patria y Vida," the anthem of those protests that won two Latin Grammy Awards in 2021. He was arrested on May 18 of that year and sentenced in June 2022 to nine years in prison.
Cumple una pena en la prisión Kilo 8 de máxima seguridad en Pinar del Río, ha llevado a cabo huelgas de hambre y rechazó la oferta del régimen de emigrar a cambio de su libertad. «No one wants to be in prison», declaró en una entrevista en 2025, donde también reveló que agentes de la Seguridad del Estado le ofrecieron emigrar o permanecer preso hasta 2030.
Otero Alcántara, leader of the San Isidro Movement, was arrested on July 11, 2021, and sentenced to five years for charges of "contempt of patriotic symbols, disobedience, and public disorder." He is serving his sentence in the maximum-security prison of Guanajay, in Artemisa.
His sentence expires on July 9, 2026, a date confirmed by the People's Supreme Court in April, which rejected appeals and confirmed that no reductions for good behavior were applied. In December 2025, he began a voluntary hunger strike from prison as a form of protest. Amnesty International recognizes him as a prisoner of conscience and demands his immediate release.
Félix Navarro, 72 years old and leader of the Pedro Luis Boitel Party for Democracy, was sentenced to nine years for his involvement in the 11J. He was released in January 2025 following a dialogue between the regime and the Vatican, but was re-incarcerated on April 29, 2025 on the grounds of violating his parole.
In April 2026, he was victim to a brutal beating in Agüica prison, in Matanzas, and was transferred to a punishment cell. He shows severe physical deterioration: respiratory symptoms, diabetes, and lung pain without adequate medical attention.
In May 2026, Navarro and his daughter Saylí rejected the proposal of forced exile offered by an auxiliary bishop of Havana.
Amnesty International recognizes all three as prisoners of conscience. Otero Alcántara's sentence will end in less than three weeks, on July 9, 2026, making his case the most urgent of the three.
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