As 2025 draws to a close, 17 Cuban artists remain behind bars, with 10 more serving sentences outside prison due to their creative work or civic engagement. The Observatory of Cultural Rights condemns this as a severe form of repression curtailing freedom of expression. The group highlights prominent cases and vows to continue documenting abuses.
The Observatory of Cultural Rights issued a statement on Monday, lamenting that 'young creators whose personal development has been cut short by political hatred' continue to face punishment. The group reports that these 17 artists are imprisoned, while 10 others serve non-custodial sentences as a direct result of their independent expression, amid ongoing repression in Cuba.
In prior statements, the Observatory has cited prominent cases such as visual artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and rapper Maykel Castillo Osorbo, sentenced in 2022 to five and nine years in prison respectively after their 2021 detention. Otero Alcántara's term could end this year based on the sentencing timeline. Other examples include activist and rapper Yasmany González Valdés, jailed for four years for painting anti-government slogans, and Wilmer Moreno Suárez, known as Míster Will D’Cuba, sentenced to 18 years for his role in the July 11, 2021 protests in La Güinera, Havana.
Throughout 2025, the Observatory has supported and publicized these cases, updating reports on institutional violence, medical neglect, isolation, and threats within Cuba's prison system. It accuses authorities of pressuring artists' families and disrupting their creative careers.
'We will continue naming each artist, recording every abuse, and preserving the memory of those who resist from prison and of those who do so under harassment in semi-freedom,' the platform declares.
In a contrasting development, the Cuban Institute of Music awarded the 2025 National Music Prize to Amaury Pérez Vidal, a key figure in Nueva Trova. The National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac) praised his blend of poetic rigor and emotional intimacy. Pérez Vidal expressed gratitude: 'Against hostile and capricious winds I fought, I tried, and I achieved some songs that, I am sure, will outlive me'.
