The Cuban artist and former political prisoner Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara stated in an interview with Fox News that Cubans on the island are actively anticipating the collapse of the dictatorship and are calling for intervention from foreign powers to achieve this, in remarks that resonate strongly at a time of heightened pressure from Washington on Havana.
The Cuban is waiting for the dictatorship to fall at any moment, for intervention, for foreign powers to help us, said Otero Alcántara, who was celebrating his first month of freedom in the United States when the interview was published on August 19.
The artist, co-founder of the Movimiento San Isidro, was arrested on July 11, 2021 —the same day as the historic protests of 11J— and spent five years in Cuban prisons on charges of contempt, public disorder, and offending national symbols. Prior to that date, he claims to have been detained around 90 times in less than three years for protesting and using his art to challenge the regime.
His release occurred on July 18, 2026, following the approval of an individual humanitarian parole, and he arrived on the same day in Miami under the condition of permanent exile imposed by the regime.
Regarding the situation on the island, he was unequivocal: "Right now in Cuba there is a genocide literally against the Cuban people because the dictatorship refuses to relent in its effort to remain in power." He described children drinking unsafe water from improvised wells and daily deaths resulting from a lack of medicine and electricity.
Otero Alcántara also rejected the official argument that U.S. sanctions are responsible for the crisis. "Cubans today literally blame the dictatorship for the problems in Cuba; they don't blame the sanctions," he said, adding that "what people want is for this to end now, because the Cuban people are literally dying."
His words align with what independent surveys reflect. A digital poll from May 2026 with 42,263 valid responses —58% of which were geolocated from Cuba— revealed that 60.9% supported a direct military intervention by the U.S., and 64.9% favored overthrowing the government "by any means necessary, including armed force."
A survey by Bendixen & Amandi International conducted in April 2026 among 800 Cubans and Cuban-Americans in South Florida found that 79% supported some form of military intervention.
The former political prisoner also addressed the historical fear of military intervention, arguing that the example of Venezuela disproves it. "People are afraid and have this doubt that the regime has built over 60 years about a military intervention involving bombs falling from west to east, and we already know, the experience of Venezuela demonstrated that it is not like that," he stated, referring to the capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces in January 2026.
Regarding political prisoners, Otero Alcántara emphasized that repression is no longer limited to seasoned activists: “Today, those imprisoned are children and young people who do not have political training, but young people who took to the streets, women who took to the streets to demand their rights.” The organization Prisoners Defenders documented a historical record of 1,327 political prisoners in Cuba as of the end of July 2026.
The artist's statements come as the Trump administration accumulates more than 240 sanctions against Cuba since January 2026, including two executive orders and measures against entities such as CUPET, GAESA, and MINFAR.
"Had they not allowed me to leave with those works, I would have literally died in Cuban prisons," said Otero Alcántara about the art he created during his imprisonment and which he recently exhibited in Miami as a testament to those who remain incarcerated.
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