Washington, D.C. –Today, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), co-chair of the Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus and a member of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, announced in a House floor speech that she will partner with Freedom House and Amnesty International to advocate for the immediate and unconditional release of two artists and human rights advocates who have been wrongfully imprisoned by the Cuban communist regime.

With the support of the Defending Freedoms Project, Wasserman Schultz will highlight the injustice faced by Latin Grammy-winning rapper Maykel “Osorbo” Castillo Pérez, a co-author of protest anthem “Patria Y Vida” and visual and performance artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, a fierce advocate for free expression and human rights. The Congresswoman will also engage with the Biden Administration to ensure that an end to Maykel and Luis Manuel’s political imprisonment is a top priority in any present future engagement with Cuba.

“I’m grateful the Biden Administration granted humanitarian parole to both Luis Manuel and Maykel, but for the Cuban regime, exiling these patriots isn’t enough. Their very existence is a threat,” said Wasserman Schultz. “If we truly intend to live up to our nation’s values, we must work tirelessly to liberate those who continually sacrifice their freedom for others.”

After announcing her campaign in both English and Spanish, Rep. Wasserman Schultz entered a letter from Luis Manuel published by the Miami Herald and a profile of Maykel from Rolling Stone into the Congressional Record to raise awareness among her colleagues and constituents. Listen to her full floor remarks here.

“We welcome Rep. Wasserman Schultz’s critical and timely advocacy on behalf of Luis Manuel and Maykel.  Their work to spotlight human rights abuses in Cuba through their art deserves our attention now more than ever as they continue to languish in prison in deplorable conditions,” Margaux Ewen, Director of Freedom House’s Political Prisoners Initiative. “We join Rep. Wasserman Schultz and Amnesty International in calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Luis Manuel and Maykel, in addition to the 780+ political prisoners that remain unjustly incarcerated in Cuba.”

The Congresswoman’s complete remarks are below, along with background information on both Maykel and Luis Manuel.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to demand the immediate release of two Cuban prisoners of conscience.

Two years ago, thousands of Cubans peacefully demonstrated for their basic rights, and their corrupt rulers responded with a brutal, indiscriminate crackdown. Maykel Castillo Pérez and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara both helped forge the historic and resurgent pro-democracy movement on July 11th.

They’ve been imprisoned ever since.

Maykel, a Latin Grammy-winning rapper, co-authored the song “Patria Y Vida,” an anthem for the mass demonstrations. Luis Manuel, an Afro-Cuban visual artist, has fought passionately for free expression and against censorship.

Maykel disappeared from public view after being detained without a warrant on May 18, 2021, and a kangaroo court sentenced him to nine years in prison. The U.N. reports Maykel remains imprisoned “solely for his pro-democracy activism”, enduring inmate threats, solitary confinement, and denied family visits and medical attention.

Yet he still rebels however he can. On the anniversary of the July 11 protests, he sewed his mouth shut and tattooed “Patria Y Vida” on his arm. Maykel told friends: “I have enough strength to keep bleeding…I prefer with great pride to descend in a coffin than to bow.”

Luis Manuel’s despicable treatment is compounded by the jarring legacy of anti-Black racism in Cuba. On July 11th he too was arrested after posting a video on his plans to join Cuba’s mass democracy demonstrations.

Like Maykel, he was tried behind closed doors, thrown in a maximum-security prison. Due to abuse, bad medical care, and denial of food and water, Luis Manuel is suffering from extreme weight loss and severe medical issues.

I’m grateful the Biden Administration granted humanitarian parole to both Luis Manuel and Maykel, but for the Cuban regime, exiling these patriots isn’t enough. Their very existence is a threat.

While these cases are egregious, thousands of peaceful pro-democracy protesters have been jailed, tortured, or killed. If we truly intend to live up to our nation’s values, we must work tirelessly to liberate those who continually sacrifice their freedom for others.

As co-chair of the Cuba Democracy Caucus, I proudly join forces with Freedom House and Amnesty International to demand justice for Maykel and Luis Manuel through the Defending Freedoms Project.

I intend to use my platform to ensure their unconditional release is a top priority in any discussion of Cuba policy. I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join me.

Maykel “Osorbo” Castillo Pérez is a Cuban rapper and artist who has received two Latin Grammy awards. Along with several other Cuban artists, he co-authored and released the song “Patria Y Vida” which became the anthem for the mass demonstrations in Cuba on July 11, 2021.

Maykel was arbitrarily detained at his home by state security officials without a warrant on May 18, 2021, according to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Following his detention, he forcibly disappeared and subsequently was transferred to the high security 5 y Medio prison in Pinar del Río on May 31, 2021 where he currently remains. Following a closed-door trial with significant police presence, Maykel was sentenced in June 2022 to nine years in prison.

In response to a complaint by seven international NGOs to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions, the United Nations found that Maykel “has been imprisoned solely for his pro-democracy activism” and demanded his release. The Cuban regime has not given any indication that he will be released. Cuban authorities haven’t responded to the request of Castillo Pérez to leave the country with his family. He and his family were approved to travel to the United States under humanitarian parole at the beginning of 2023.

Maykel has been subject to punishment cells, suspension of family visits, solitary confinement, delays in providing him necessary medical attention, threats from other inmates, and constant interrogations from state security. Since the beginning of April 2023, the organization started receiving reports that Maykel has been harassed and threatened by other prisoners to harm him after authorities installed a camera in the area where he is detained.

On July 12^th of 2023, Maykel sewed his mouth shut and tattooed “Patria y Vida” (on his arm to protest threats to his life from fellow inmates and state security agents that he has been receiving for months. The next day, the authorities removed the stitches from Maykel’s mouth and informed him that he would be denied visits from his family. He was placed in solitary confinement on 14 July. In his latest call to his friends on 18 July, he said: “It’s not enough because I have enough strength to keep bleeding… It’s not enough that they lock me up in a prison, lying to my people, extorting my career. I prefer with great pride to descend in a coffin than to bow (…)”

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is a self-taught Black Cuban visual and performance artist and member of the anti-censorship San Isidro Movement who was arrested while attempting to participate in the peaceful protests of July 11, 2021.

On July 11^th of 2021, Luis Manuel posted a video online, saying he would be joining one of the largest demonstrations Cuba had seen in decades. Luis Manuel was arrested and taken to Guanajay maximum security prison, where he remains to this day. His trial, like Maykel’s, was conducted behind closed doors and in violation of the essential guarantees of judicial impartiality, transparency, and independence.

Luis Manuel is in a declining state of health. He has suffered a dislocated knee, is having problems with one of his eyes and has had circulatory problems. Like Maykel, he has lost a great deal of weight in recent months, according to information provided to Amnesty International. The United Nations Committee against Torture has already expressed its concern at the overcrowding, lack of ventilation, poor medical care, malnutrition, and insufficient provision of water in Cuban prisons.

Like Maykel, Luis Manuel has been approved to enter the United States under humanitarian parole, but Cuba has not allowed him to leave the country. Along with hundreds of others, he is being arbitrarily detained simply for exercising his right to free expression. In a letter published by the Miami Herald, he stated: “Today every young Cuban is a political prisoner. A censored artist. An exile inside and outside Cuba… as I approach the age of 35 behind bars, I reflect on the loss of youth under a dictatorial system.”