The United States demanded immediate action from Cuba to protect the life of activist Luis Alcántara, who has been on hunger strike for 7 days

The United States said on Saturday it was “extremely concerned” for the well-being of Cuban artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara., who is in her seventh day on a hunger and thirst strike at her home, in a protest against the dispossession of her works by security guards.

“The United States is extremely concerned” for the well-being of Cuban activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara Yes urges the Cuban government to take immediate action to protect his life and health», He wrote on his Twitter Julie chung, Acting Undersecretary of the Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Department of State.

In official Cuban media, meanwhile, the regime accused the Movimiento San Isidro (MSI), a rebellious collective of artists and university students, trying to politically manipulate the situation.

Further, they stated that Otero is tasked with going on a hunger strike from abroad and being funded by the Washington-based National Democratic Institute think tank.

For his part, Ramón Suárez Polcari, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Havana, declared that in the afternoon he was able to enter Otero’s house and that he had tried to make him think so that he left the strike, without success. “He was the one who opened the door and we sat down to talk, he looked a bit exhausted, that makes sense”He said, noting that they had had a conversation for about an hour.

MSI member Amaury Pacheco said on Twitter that Otero could not stand up and that “his skin and his mouth are cracked” that “he does not urinate or speak”.

Friday, Otero supporters tried to approach his home to check on his health, in the same neighborhood where MSI members and supporters barricaded themselves months ago., in a fact that led to a demonstration of 300 artists and intellectuals on November 27 to demand freedom of expression, something unprecedented on the island.

Among the registered sweaters, we can see that people shout the slogan of the popular protest video “Patria y Vida”.

Several MSI members who had offered to go out on Thursday to protest the situation in Otero Alcántara have been arrested, denounced members of the movement, who said that on Friday at least two of them were prevented from leaving their homes.

“Dozens of Cuban artists, journalists and activists arrested, under surveillance or confined to their homes to silence their support for @LMOAlcantara”, The US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor said on Twitter, a message retweeted by its Embassy in Havana.

“The United States stands with all those who defend freedom of expression and assembly in Cuba,” he added.

On your side, María Arena, president of the European Parliament’s human rights sub-committee, condemned the events. “The harassment of @Mov_sanisidro and other peaceful protesters in #Cuba must stop”he said on Twitter.

With information from AFP

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