The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) presented its Democracy Award 2026 to three Cuban activists —Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, Maykel Castillo Pérez (Maykel Osorbo), and Félix Navarro Rodríguez— during a ceremony held in Mount Vernon, the historic residence of George Washington in Virginia, as part of the 250th anniversary of American independence.
Of the three awardees, only Otero Alcántara was able to attend the event. The founder of the San Isidro Movement arrived in Miami last July under humanitarian parole, after serving a five-year sentence imposed by the Cuban regime.
The award for Maykel Osorbo was collected by the rapper and activist Eliécer Márquez Duany (El Funky), who traveled to Washington for the event.
«I am in Washington with the honor and responsibility of accepting the NED Democracy Award on behalf of my brother Maykel Castillo Pérez», wrote El Funky on his social media. «A recognition of a great patriot who has paid a very high price for defending the freedom of Cuba».
Osorbo remains imprisoned in Cuba despite the fact that the U.S. government approved a humanitarian parole for him last July. The Cuban regime refused to authorize his departure, and the musician, co-author of "Patria y Vida," is serving a nine-year sentence.
The award for Félix Navarro, 73 years old, was received by José Daniel Ferrer García, founder of UNPACU and himself a recipient of the 2009 Democracy Award from NED.
Ferrer did not hold back in praising his fellow fighter: “I am sure there is no one in Cuba, across the continent, or anywhere in the world who deserves this Democracy Award, the Sakharov Prize, and even the Nobel Peace Prize more than he does.”
Navarro, whose history of resistance spans four decades, remains imprisoned in Agüica prison, in Colón, Matanzas.
He was released in January 2025 with the mediation of the Vatican, but the regime revoked that freedom in April of the same year and returned him to prison. In April 2026, it was reported that he suffered a brutal beating inside the prison.
The Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba (CTDC) celebrated the acknowledgments and demanded the immediate release of the two activists who remain imprisoned.
"No one should remain imprisoned for exercising their rights, expressing their ideas, or peacefully defending freedom and democracy," the organization stated in a press release.
The U.S. Embassy in Cuba also joined in the recognition and took the opportunity to make a direct appeal to the regime: "Maykel Castillo 'Osorbo' and Félix Navarro remain imprisoned. Their activism is not a crime. Free them now, along with all the others unjustly incarcerated."
In the same ceremony, the NED awarded the Medal for Service to Democracy to Belarusian human rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, and the Champions of Freedom Award to Senator Chris Coons. Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart will receive his award at a later date.
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