The former world boxing champion Yordenis Ugás publicly defended Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara on Tuesday following the criticism aimed at the leader of the San Isidro Movement (MSI) for arriving in Miami looking fit. He accused the Cuban regime of having orchestrated that image to create divisions within the Cuban exile community.
In a message posted on X, Ugás revealed that he visited Otero Alcántara along with his mother to give him a hug and convey the gratitude of his family and neighbors in Cuba. “Cubans do not unite for anything,” the boxer wrote, visibly upset by the low turnout to welcome the activist, whom he referred to as a “Cuban hero who spent more than five years in prison.”
The focus of his message was to respond to those who questioned Otero Alcántara's credibility for not arriving in a physically deteriorated state. «Some Cubans are so twisted that in order to believe in Luis Manuel, he had to arrive in a wheelchair, seriously ill and suffering from nerves», Ugás wrote.
The boxer offered a straightforward explanation: the regime knew exactly what it was doing. "Not everyone is the same, especially since he was a well-known prisoner, and that dictatorship did not want to hand him over weak and sick, for this very reason, to create distrust among some," he argued.
For Ugás, this dynamic represents yet another victory for the regime. "The dictatorship is once again getting its way. They haven't been there for 68 years for nothing," he declared.
Otero Alcántara, co-founder of the MSI, arrived in Miami on July 19 after serving five years in prison at the maximum-security facility in Guanajay, Artemisa. He was arrested during the protests on July 11, 2021, and sentenced on charges of "insulting national symbols," "contempt," and "public disorder."
His release was not straightforward: although the sentence formally expired on July 9, 2026, the regime transferred him to an unknown location on July 7 — which Amnesty International denounced as enforced disappearance — and conditioned his freedom on a definitive and irrevocable exile from Cuba.
Upon arriving in Miami, Otero Alcántara himself made it clear: "I was expelled from Cuba." In January 2022, while he was still imprisoned, he publicly stated, "I will die here," rejecting any possibility of exile.
The exile of Otero Alcántara sparked a wave of debate on social media, with some questioning both his appearance and his acceptance of exile.
The activist José Daniel Ferrer also came to his defense on Monday, demanding respect for someone who, he stated, has "many days of brave history."
Ugás, who has a long history of political activism —from publicly challenging Díaz-Canel in 2022 to celebrating Ferrer's arrival in Miami in October 2025— concluded his message by reaffirming his commitment:
We will continue to demand freedom for all political prisoners. And we will keep denouncing the Cuban dictatorship. God, Homeland, Life, Freedom.
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