The Cuban artist and opponent Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, one of the most recognized faces of the San Isidro Movement and recently released after spending five years in prison, stated that in Cuba, there is «a genocide» against the population due to the humanitarian crisis and the regime's refusal to relinquish power.
During an interview granted to Fox News, the former political prisoner stated that the international community must be aware of the seriousness of the situation facing the island.
I believe the world needs to know that right now in Cuba there is literally a genocide happening against the Cuban people because the dictatorship refuses to give up its determination to stay in power, he declared.
Otero stated that the crisis is reflected in the lack of drinking water, medicine, electricity, and healthcare, issues that, he said, particularly impact the most vulnerable sectors.
"Right now, children in Cuba have to drink unsafe water (...). There are a lot of diseases, a lot of people dying every day due to lack of medicine, lack of medical care, lack of electricity," she stated.
The activist attributed that decline to the political system's inability to provide solutions for the population.
"All of that stems from how inefficient the dictatorship is at transforming into a participatory democracy where we can all contribute to that reality," he stated.
Otero Alcántara's complaint adds to other voices that in recent months have used similar terms to describe the deterioration of living conditions in Cuba.
The priest Alberto Reyes accused the regime of by denouncing the deaths of individuals due to a lack of medication and healthcare, while the Cuban Conflict Observatory used the same expression to .
In Matanzas, neighbors affected by prolonged blackouts have also described as “genocide” the situation they are enduring due to power outages, extreme heat, and shortages of basic services.
This language has also spread among citizens and analysts who are trying to define the depth of the Cuban crisis.
Expressions such as "failed state," "dead country," "humanitarian catastrophe," "total abandonment," or "total and absolute misery of a people" are also used to describe a country marked by the collapse of the electrical system, food and medicine shortages, deteriorating healthcare, and mass emigration.
In that context, Otero Alcántara's statements fit into an increasingly common narrative among opponents, religious leaders, and citizens who directly attribute the responsibility for the crisis affecting the Island to the regime.
Otero Alcántara was arrested following the anti-government protests on July 11, 2021, and was later convicted of contempt, public disorder, and outrage against national symbols. During the interview, he recalled spending five years in prison under what he described as extremely harsh conditions and reported having suffered psychological and physical torture.
The artist arrived a few weeks ago in the United States, where he has resumed his public activities to denounce the situation of political prisoners and the crisis unfolding in Cuba.
The complaints of Otero Alcántara were not limited to the humanitarian situation. In the same interview with Fox News, he stated that during the last months he spent on the Island, he noticed a change in the perception of Cubans regarding the causes of the crisis.
«The Cuban is waiting for the dictatorship to fall at any moment, for intervention, for foreign powers to help us», he stated. In his view, the population «no longer blames the sanctions» and attributes «the total blame for human misery, repression, and everything happening in Cuba» to the regime.
Filed under: