The Legal Information Center Cubalex documented a new transfer of the political prisoner Maykel Castillo Pérez, known as "Osorbo," from Kilo 8 prison in Pinar del Río to the Guanajay prison in Artemisa, where he has been detained since July 10.
The most disturbing detail of the transfer is that the rapper and activist was specifically placed in the cell that until a few days ago was occupied by his friend and fellow member of the Movimiento San Isidro, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who was taken from that same prison on July 7 by State Security agents and subsequently expelled to the United States, where he arrived in Miami on July 19.
Cubalex described the maneuver as “another example of the psychological torture used by the Cuban political police against dissidents,” noting that the coincidence between the forced exile of Otero Alcántara and the arrival of Osorbo in his cell was not a coincidence.
Although the change of prison brings Osorbo geographically closer to Havana compared to his previous detention in Pinar del Río, the organization warns that the musician remains distant from his place of residence and family environment, and the official reasons for the transfer have not been made known.
This practice, according to Cubalex, follows a systematic pattern: prison transfers are used as an additional punishment strategy that complicates family contact and worsens the conditions of confinement, especially in a country where the collapse of public transportation and blackouts make it nearly impossible for families to travel long distances to visit their loved ones or to deliver food, medications, and hygiene products.
The dossier prepared by the organization states that this is the fourth consecutive episode of isolation that Osorbo is experiencing, who was transferred to Kilo 8 in January 2026 under the accusation of planning a riot, with no prior notice given to his family.
Maykel Castillo Pérez is serving a nine-year sentence imposed in June 2022 on charges of assault, resistance, contempt, public disorder, and defamation of institutions, in retaliation for his activism and for being a co-author of "Patria y Vida," the anthem of the protests on July 11, 2021.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), in its Report No. 78/26, declared his detention arbitrary and politically motivated, and recommended the annulment of his conviction and his immediate release. Amnesty International recognizes him as a prisoner of conscience.
His sentence ends in 2030, and he was not included in any of the pardons recently announced by the Cuban regime.
Cubalex demanded that the Cuban authorities "cease the use of prison transfers as a mechanism of retaliation and isolation against individuals imprisoned for political reasons," as well as respect the right of inmates to maintain contact with their families.
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