Three weeks after his arrival in Miami, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara published a 16-minute video on Facebook this Saturday to respond to the criticisms surrounding his departure from Cuba and his first statements in exile, reject the accusations of having "cleansed" the regime, and urge that the focus of the diaspora be directed towards the more than 1,200 political prisoners who remain on the island without media visibility.
The co-founder of the Movimiento San Isidro acknowledged that he had made a mistake by assuming the public was aware of his entire five-year history in prison.
"Take it for granted that people knew everything that had happened in the five years," he admitted, explaining that this is why his initial interviews focused on the last months of confinement without providing context for what he had experienced overall.
In the video, he detailed the conditions he endured in the Guanajay prison: more than six hunger strikes, including one lasting over 40 days that caused him to suffer facial paralysis; time spent in punishment cells on more than six or seven occasions; beatings carried out by common inmates sent by the regime; and lasting effects that he still deals with today, such as vision problems and gastritis.
"I had more than six hunger strikes, I was in punishment cells more than six, seven times," she stated. "Once, I was on a hunger strike for over 40 days in Guanajay, which indeed caused me facial paralysis."
In response to those who accuse him of softening his stance on the regime, he was emphatic: "Who is going to polish the image of the dictatorship? Who is the fool that thinks they can give the dictatorship a makeover at any given moment? Not even they can do it; am I supposed to do it?"
And he added: "I do have the moral stature to say that I was indeed where I was, in the dungeons of the dictatorship. And I did suffer, truly."
Otero Alcántara arrived in Miami on July 19, 2026 after being forced into exile following a five-year sentence for his participation in the protests of 11J.
His appearance generated an intense controversy in the Cuban exile community from the very start: criticism regarding his physical appearance, questions about his statements, a video released by the regime showing him drinking beer, and doubts about the watch he wore upon landing.
Figures such as the boxer Yordenis Ugás and the opposition figure José Daniel Ferrer came out to publicly defend him.
The activist warned that the internal divisions within the exile community have direct consequences for those who suffer the most: the prisoners without names or media coverage.
"If they set out to discredit the people we are here dealing with and working with every day, the ones who will be harmed are the political prisoners and Cuba," he stated.
One of the most urgent calls in the video was the case of Guillermo del Sol, an independent journalist who is marking 51 days on a hunger strike in Santa Clara this Saturday to demand the release of 18 political prisoners.
According to reports on the critical condition of the activist, Del Sol had lost more than 30 pounds and was experiencing severe dehydration at the beginning of August.
"The focus of the activists, the focus of those who are concerned about Cuba, should right now also be on people, for example, like Guillermo del Sol, an activist who has been on hunger strike for over 51 days," emphasized Otero Alcántara.
He also mentioned a prisoner identified as "Boussat," who has been incarcerated for 30 years without anyone knowing him or supporting him.
Otero Alcántara ended the video with a message that sums up his stance from exile: "The dictatorship could have been less aggressive with me thanks to your help. So, let’s keep helping, let’s stay connected, and let’s continue working for a free Cuba."
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