Cuban dissident artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara departed Havana for the United States on Saturday, following his release from a five-year prison sentence and approval of a US parole visa. He is expected to land in Florida.
Otero Alcántara had been missing from public view since 7 July, when authorities transferred him from Guanajay maximum-security prison to a state security facility two days before his sentence ended. Friends managing his Facebook page announced the visa approval on 17 July.
The artist was arrested in July 2021 as he attempted to join widespread anti-government protests. He was convicted in 2022 of insulting national symbols, contempt, and disturbing public order, charges widely condemned by rights groups.