Artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara Vanishes After Removal From Prison

State Security agents removed dissident artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara from Guanajay maximum-security prison in Artemisa around 5:00 pm, just two days before his five-year sentence was due to end on July 9. His family was not informed, and authorities have since refused to disclose his location even after the sentence expired. Amnesty International, which has recognized him as a prisoner of conscience since 2021, formally denounced the case as a forced disappearance and demanded his immediate release. The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances opened an Urgent Action on July 12 at Cubalex's request, giving Cuban authorities until July 25 to disclose his whereabouts.