On Wednesday, the United States demanded that the Cuban dictatorship provide “immediate medical attention” to opponent and political prisoner Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who abandoned the hunger strike he had been holding since January in the prison where he is being held for the protests of July 11.
“We urge the Cuban authorities to provide immediate medical attention to Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who remains seriously ill while in detention,” U.S. Undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, Brian Nichols, said on social media.
In the same message, the senior official of the US State Department denounced that “the Cuban regime's constant mistreatment, deprivation of medical care and torture of political prisoners are an affront to universal values.”
The opposition artist had begun his fast on January 18 after, after six months of pretrial detention, the Cuban Public Prosecutor's Office refused to modify the precautionary measure of imprisonment and release him pending trial.
Activist Claudia Genlui, from the dissident Movimiento San Isidro (MSI), reported on social media that Otero Alcántara “has already left the hunger strike strategy behind, which doesn't mean he changes his stance on other things.”
He also reported that the opponent “is willing to face trial and bear the consequences; he continues to plead not guilty and supports all people who have left Cuba for some reason”.
But he pointed out that Otero Alcántara “is still in the 'corridor 25' of the punished, of those who do not have the right to telephone calls”.
Otero Alcántara, 34, is being held in Guanajay prison (west), after trying to join the massive demonstrations against the Miguel Díaz-Canel regime on July 11.
The Cuban Justice incriminates him for the alleged crimes of contempt, public disorder and incitement to commit crimes, as well as outrage to national symbols, accusations that the NGO Human Rights Watch considers unfair and unfounded.
On that day, thousands of Cubans took to the streets spontaneously to demand more freedoms and political change after six decades of dictatorship, in protests that resulted in hundreds of detainees.
Since December, the trials of protesters on July 11 have taken place in Cuba, involving hundreds of accused. Several NGOs have reported a lack of guarantees, fabrication of evidence and very high penalties.
According to Justice 11J and the NGO Cubalex, a total of 1,442 people have been arrested in connection with the protests. Of these, at least 756 remain in detention centers. Prisoners Defenders, for their part, points out that at least 842 people were in prison on the island at the end of 2021 for political reasons, mostly because of the events of July 11.
Miguel Díaz-Canel on Tuesday showed his country's willingness to dialogue with its “adversary” the United States, despite the historical differences between the two nations. “We don't need confrontation to exist either, as some fools think,” the dictator wrote on Twitter, quoting a phrase by Fidel Castro (1926-2016).
Both countries began a rapprochement in 2015, known as the “thaw”, during Barack Obama's last term (2009-2017), but it was reversed with the administration of Republican Donald Trump (2017-2021).
Trump tightened economic sanctions against the island and paralyzed much of the measures taken by his Democratic predecessor.
In 2017, the United States minimized the personnel of its embassy in Havana and diverted consular services to third countries following the “health incidents” against its diplomats on the island and whose reasons have not yet been clarified.
After arriving at the White House in January 2021, US President Joe Biden said he would review Trump's policies.
However, Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security adviser, said last November that “circumstances changed” in Cuba policy following the July 11 protests, and that they were severely suppressed by the authorities.
(With information from EFE)
Keep reading:
Últimas Noticias
Debanhi Escobar: they secured the motel where she was found lifeless in a cistern
Members of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office in Nuevo León secured the Nueva Castilla Motel as part of the investigations into the case
The oldest person in the world died at the age of 119
Kane Tanaka lived in Japan. She was born six months earlier than George Orwell, the same year that the Wright brothers first flew, and Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize
Macabre find in CDMX: they left a body bagged and tied in a taxi
The body was left in the back seats of the car. It was covered with black bags and tied with industrial tape
The eagles of America will face Manchester City in a duel of legends. Here are the details
The top Mexican football champion will play a match with Pep Guardiola's squad in the Lone Star Cup
Why is it good to bring dogs out to know the world when they are puppies
A so-called protection against the spread of diseases threatens the integral development of dogs
