Cuba condemns rapper arrested for refusing to ‘| Social and Cultural Affairs
Maykel Osorbo, author of anti-communist song ‘Patria y Vida’, has been in jail for two weeks, according to a colleague.
A Cuban anti-writer who co-wrote a song criticizing it communist government has been in jail for two weeks, a colleague said on Thursday after the singer was allowed to make his first phone call.
Maykel Osorbo, co-creator of the song “Patria y Vida” (“Our Country and Life”) is accused of things that include “denial” and “insult,” her colleague Camila Lobon told AFP via WhatsApp.
The 37-year-old artist “managed to sing after 14 days of not being able to call, and told us” where he was, he said.
The US ambassador to Cuba also sent a message from Samantha Power, director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), protesting Osorbo’s arrest “by many other artists those who strive for human rights.
“He needs to put an end to these evil efforts to end free thinking and conflict,” he said.
.@PowerUSAID: It is encouraging to hear of the release of @LMOAlcantaraBut the government continues to detain Maykel Castillo and other artists who pretend to seek human rights. They must put an end to these vicious efforts to end the freedom of thought and expression. https://t.co/k0Aw9g2SNy
– United States Embassy in Cuba (@USEmbCuba) June 3, 2021
USAID was criticized in 2014 when an Associated Press investigation found that the agency used Cuban rapists “to discredit the information” and create a group of young people who wanted to “change culture,” according to documents.
But the AP said the operation was fun and successful. Osorbo is not known for his involvement, and many of the artists did not know anything about the operation.
The Cubadebate government-sponsored website, citing the interior ministry, says Osorbo is temporarily detained “on charges of criminal misconduct, public disorder and escape from prisoners or detainees, which he did on April 4, 2021.”
On the same day, residents of San Isidro, where Osorbo lives, gathered on his street to avoid detection by police while shopping.
Photos of the event, which was spread via Facebook, show people with Osorbo and his opponent Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, chanting “Patria y Vida” and chanting anti-government slogans, a rare event in a one-party state.
Osorbo was arrested on May 18 and ordered to be detained. He was transferred on May 31 to Pinar del Rio Prison 160km (99 miles) west of Havana, according to Cubadebate, who reportedly connected by phone with his lawyer and his wife.
“Our Country is Life” and translates the term “Patria o Muerte” (Our World or Death) created by the last communist leader Fidel Castro in 1960.
The song is an unofficial criticism of the 16-year-old communist government, running a series of protests. poverty, oppression and misrule.
The song, a collaboration between Cuban artists living in Florida and at home, angered the government and fought a war, with Cuban music chanting national anthems.
