Cuban dissident Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara goes into exile in US
Prominent Cuban dissident Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara has arrived in the US after serving five years in a Cuban prison. His release follows a parole agreement, and he continues to advocate for the end of the Castro regime.
Why it matters
This event marks a significant development in the ongoing struggle between the Cuban government and its pro-democracy opposition movement.
Image source, AFP via Getty Images Image caption, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara speaks to journalists at Miami airport
One of Cuba's most prominent dissidents has gone into exile in the US, after leaving Cuba where he had served a five-year prison sentence.
Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, 38, is the leader of the San Isidro Movement (SIM), a group of artists, journalists and intellectuals who have campaigned for freedom of speech and democracy in the communist country.
He was arrested in 2021 during Cuba's largest anti-government protests in decades and spent five years in the maximum-security Guanajay prison near Havana.
His whereabouts have been unclear in recent days as Cuban authorities held him in an unknown location while the US approved a parole request.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in