MIAMI — Cuban artist and activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara arrived in Miami Friday after being released from prison and allowed to go into exile.
Alcántara posted a photo from the plane as he traveled to South Florida.
The 38-year-old was one of hundreds of dissidents jailed following the historic protests in Cuba five years ago, when demonstrators took to the streets demanding change.
Congressman Carlos Gimenez reacted to the news on social media, writing in part:
“Luis Manuel is not a criminal; he is a Cuban patriot whose only ‘fault’ was refusing to be silenced and demanding the fundamental rights that the regime has stolen from our people for nearly seven decades.”
Five years after those protests, Cubans continue demonstrating as conditions on the communist island deteriorate.
The U.S. has also continued its pressure campaign on the Cuban government.
A U.S. Embassy official said the Cuban government released Alcántara so he could travel to the United States with his family and said the embassy had been pushing for his release.
Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to increase pressure on the Cuban government.
The state department released a statement that read, in part:
“Otero Alcántara’s only ‘crime’ was refusing to stay silent and using his art to demand the basic freedoms everyday Cubans have been denied for almost seven decades. The Trump Administration remains committed to the Cuban people’s pursuit of freedom from tyranny and in support of democracy, prosperity, and fundamental freedoms. We call for the immediate release of the more than 700 unjustly detained political prisoners held by the regime.”
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