The rapper and Cuban political prisoner Maykel Castillo Pérez, known as Maykel Osorbo, was reportedly handcuffed and forced to cut his hair while several guards held him down during a search conducted last Friday at the Guanajay prison in Artemisa.
The complaint was made this Monday by the activist and art curator Anamely Ramos in a Facebook post, where she explained that the operation took place in the area known as "la Incrementada," where the artist has been detained since July.
According to Ramos, more than 30 guards from a special brigade participated in the search, along with prison officials, provincial officials responsible for Prisons and Corrections, and State Security agents.
"In the midst of the search, things got a bit violent. We don’t have details about what happened, but we do know that several prisoners were handcuffed, including Maykel, and they forced him to get a haircut while holding him down between several guards," reported the activist.
The activist also denounced the difficulties that prisoners face in communicating with their families. As she explained, the area where Osorbo is located has been experiencing phone problems for months and currently only has one device that works intermittently.
"Right now, there is only one phone that works, and even that is only sometimes," Ramos pointed out, explaining that this situation makes it difficult to know what is happening inside the prison and to obtain information about the artist's condition.
Amid the speculation about his whereabouts, he insisted that Maykel Osorbo remains detained in Guanajay, specifically in the area known as "la Incrementada".
Ramos recalled that the musician has been granted humanitarian parole to travel to the United States, but he remains imprisoned in Cuba. The activist held the State Security and the Cuban regime responsible for preventing his release and exit from the country.
In her post, Anamely shared some words that, she claimed, the rapper sent to her after the incident, addressed to someone she identified as Castillo.
"When my spiritual tranquility exceeds the limit of peace, suddenly a fool appears to break it, over the frustrations of others," begins the message attributed to the artist.
"Little white fish, listen: the sharks are in the ocean, so leave me in my spiritual 'tranquility' and don't mess with me," he continues.
The message concludes: «Respect yourself so that you can be respected, okay? You have a head start, you're ahead... but that won't last forever. Don't make me angry».
In the comments of his post, Ramos also responded to those who, as he explained, have questioned his allegations and the oversight he provides concerning the musician's situation.
"I never lied. Not about Luis, and not about Maykel now either. I can't force anyone to believe me, but that will never be my justification for being silent," he stated.
The activist assured that she will continue to denounce what happens to political prisoners and their families, despite the criticisms she receives.
"Maykel is MY FAMILY. Period. And as long as he is not free, I will stand by his side, whether it's with four people next to me or an army," he expressed.
The rapper, one of the performers of the song "Patria y Vida," was transferred in July from Kilo 8 prison in Pinar del Río to the maximum-security prison in Guanajay, without his family receiving prior notification about the change of penitentiary facility.
Days later, the Observatory of Cultural Rights and Anamely Ramos announced that the United States had approved a humanitarian parole for the artist, similar to the one granted to his fellow member of the San Isidro Movement, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara.
However, Osorbo remains imprisoned. In August, the musician himself sent an audio message from prison in which he directly held the Cuban authorities responsible for preventing his departure to the United States.
“To prevent them from thinking that I am not there because I don’t want to be, no: I am not there because the regime does not want me to be there,” he stated then.
Maykel Osorbo was arrested on May 18, 2021, and sentenced in June 2022 to nine years in prison. Amnesty International recognizes him as a prisoner of conscience and has called for his release.
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