The Undersecretary of State of the United States for the Western Hemisphere, Julie Chung, advocated on Tuesday for the release of Cuban artists Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Osorbo.
Chung condemned on his Twitter account the repression by the Cuban regime against opposition artists, as well as the imprisonments to silence freedom of expression.
“The Cuban government cannot silence its critics by violating their human rights. LMOA and Maykel ‘Osorbo’ Castillo must be released immediately,” said the official.
The United States rejects the detention of artists for exercising their freedom of expression. The Cuban government cannot silence its critics through violation of their human rights. @LMOAlcantara and Maykel “El Osorbo” Castillo should be freed immediately.
— Julie Chung (@WHAAsstSecty) May 26, 2021
This Tuesday, the vice president of the European Parliament, Dita Charanzová, asked in a letter to the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Common Security Policy, Josep Borrell, to order the Cuban delegation of that body to visit Knoll.
Likewise, the United States embassy in Cuba made it clear that it “rejects the detention of artists for exercising their freedom of expression”, and that “the Cuban government cannot silence its critics by violating their human rights.”
Washington launched its claim four days after it asked Cuba, also on Twitter, to treat “with dignity and respect” Otero Alcántara, admitted without communication more than three weeks ago in a hospital in Havana.
The United States rejects the detention of artists for exercising their freedom of expression. The Cuban government cannot silence its critics by violating their human rights. @LMOAlcantara and Maykel “El Osorbo” Castillo must be released immediately. https://t.co/DHRPs2E8RV
– United States Embassy in Cuba (@USEmbCuba) May 26, 2021
The Cuban government accuses Otero Alcántara and Castillo, one of the interpreters of Patria y Vida, an incisive protest song by Cuban rappers viralized on social networks, of trying to manipulate the political situation and being financed and managed by organizations in the United States .
Relations between the United States and the regime do not seem to be improving, the State Department accused the Cuban government of “not cooperating fully” in the fight against terrorism with Washington, a step that reinforces its legal basis to keep the island back. as a state sponsor of terrorism under the administration of President Joe Biden.
In an official communication in the US Federal Register, Secretary of State Antony Blinken placed Cuba, along with Iran, North Korea, Syria and Venezuela, on his list of countries that “do not cooperate” at all in “counterterrorism efforts” with Washington.