TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Prominent Cuban dissident artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, whose five-year prison sentence ended last week, arrived in the United States on Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
Rubio did not provide the 38-year-old artist's whereabouts or say when he arrived.
A video posted on Otero Alcantara's official Facebook page, which is managed by his close friends, also showed his arrival in the United States.
"After five years of unjust imprisonment, Cuban artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara has finally been freed," read a post on Otero Alcantara's Facebook page.
It also said he was held in a maximum-security prison and that a condition of his release was "permanent departure from the island."
On Friday, Otero Alcantara had been granted a humanitarian visa to travel to the US after serving his prison sentence.
Who is Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara?
Otero Alcantara is one of the most visible faces of the San Isidro movement, a group of artists and intellectuals seeking greater freedom of expression in the communist country.
The Cuban artist was arrested in July 2021, as he was leaving his home to join a massive protest against blackouts in the capital, Havana.
In 2022, a court sentenced him to five years in prison for insulting national symbols, contempt and disturbing the public order.
"Otero Alcantara'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," Rubio said in a statement.
The Cuban government has accused him of acting on behalf of Washington to destabilize the communist-run island.
Read: Cuba Suffers Second Nationwide Blackout in Five Days
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
Cuba Suffers Second Nationwide Blackout in Five Days
7 hari lalu
Cuba's electricity grid has crumbled amid a six-month US fuel blockade and already-dilapidated energy infrastructure.
Cuba Approves Economic Reforms amid US Pressure
30 hari lalu
Cuba's Communist Party has signed off on a package of free market reforms. One member called the changes a response to "economic war."
UN Urges US to Lift Sanctions on Cuba, Citing Deaths of Children
39 hari lalu
Volker Turk mentions the application of sanctions by the United States (US) leading to the deaths of Cuban children due to a lack of medical access.
6.1-Magnitude Cuba Earthquake Shakes Florida, Damages Home
39 hari lalu
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck offshore western Cuba on Monday, sending tremors across parts of the Gulf of Mexico and into Florida
Cuba Receives China Rice Shipment Amid US Threats, Blackouts
55 hari lalu
Cuba took delivery of 15,000 tons of rice donated by China on Sunday when the first of several promised shipments arrived at the port of Havana.
US Indicts Former Cuban President Raul Castro
59 hari lalu
It's the latest step by the Trump's US administration to punish Cuba's communist government and officials. Raul Castro stepped down in 2018.
Cuba Buys More Than 300 Drones from Russia and Iran, Report Says
18 Mei 2026
Cuba has also discussed plans to use drones to attack US targets such as the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, according to Axios news outlet.
Cuba's Power Grid 'Critical' as US Blocks Fuel Shipments
15 Mei 2026
Protests flared in Havana amid widespread blackouts. Cuba officials met CIA Director John Ratcliffe with a goal of improving bilateral cooperation.
Cuban President Vows Defense of Island if US Invades
17 April 2026
Cuba's president has vowed to defend the island if the US launches a military assault, amid repeated invasion threats from President Trump.
Russian Oil Tanker Docks in Cuba, First Since US Blockade
1 April 2026
The tanker carrying some 730,000 barrels of crude oil is sanctioned by the US, the EU and the UK amid the war in Ukraine.
