The Cuban Communist Party applies a radically different treatment to its political prisoners depending on the level of international visibility they have: the unknown ones are dealt with quietly, while public figures are cared for enough to maintain a façade before the world. This is the thesis presented by the Cuban musician, opposition figure, and columnist Sayde Chaling-Chong this Thursday at the debate panel Transition in Cuba, moderated by Tania Costa.
“Can you imagine communists making class distinctions? Well, yes, the Communist Party has class distinctions with political prisoners,” stated Chaling-Chong, who participated in the program alongside Manuel Milanés and Alejandra Franganillo.
The panelist was straightforward in describing the mechanism: "If you are a complete stranger, if no one knows who you are, if you haven't come out in any media, if you're nothing, they crush you and make you disappear. Then for people like Luis Manuel (Otero Alcántara), they try a bit to take care of them or treat them more or less well so they can later use those arguments."
According to Chaling-Chong, the logic behind this strategy is the regime's fear of external pressure. "They are very afraid of scandal. So what has happened with Luis Manuel Otero and, to some extent, also with Maykel Osorbo, is that the regime is trying to project a good image to the world, especially to the few allies they may have left, as they do not like images of torture and bloodshed, nor do they align with their ideology."
To illustrate that the pattern is not new, the panelist referred to the historical case of Armando Valladares, imprisoned for 22 years starting in 196. “As long as he was not known, when Valladares began to publish his books, poems, and stories, the Communist Party started to treat him differently.” Valladares endured brutal conditions in prison until his case gained international attention, and he was finally released in 1982.
In the case of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, Chaling-Chong recalled participating in marches in Barcelona in support of him and described what the artist experienced. "I believe that at a certain distance or directly I suffered alongside him when he was kidnapped, when he was given electric shocks, when he was drugged, when he was brought out on television."
The panel also addressed a legal detail revealed by Cubalex: Cuban law provides for a two-month reduction for each year served in prison for good behavior, which would have allowed Otero Alcántara to be released earlier. However, the regime denied him this. "Without having opened an administrative file against him or any sanction within the prison, they claimed he had gone on hunger strikes, which they considered bad behavior, and therefore they did not grant him the two-month discount for each year served. In other words, he served the full term. It was five full years," commented journalist Tania Costa.
The Supreme People's Tribunal rejected the application of reductions in the case of the founder of the San Isidro Movement, as confirmed by Cubalex. Otero Alcántara was taken out of the Guanajay prison on July 7 by State Security agents and remained missing for several days, until on July 18 he traveled to Miami following the approval of a humanitarian parole.
Meanwhile, Maykel Osorbo —sentenced to nine years in prison— remains incarcerated. Cubalex reported that the regime transferred him to Guanajay on July 10 under conditions of psychological pressure, with no humanitarian parole materializing for him until this Thursday which was confirmed by the Observatory of Cultural Rights and the Cuban activist Anamely Ramos.
Alejandra Franganillo urged in the debate not to lose sight of what is essential. "In reality, we should first be happy that he is out of prison. It has been five years, regardless of how he came out and everything that is being discussed. I believe that the very fact of being free already deserves a great deal of respect."
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