WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday called on Cuba to immediately release more than 700 political prisoners as Cuban dissident artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara arrived in the United States after serving five years in prison.
Rubio confirmed Otero Alcántara’s arrival in the United States in a statement issued Saturday.
“We call for the immediate release of the more than 700 unjustly detained political prisoners held by the regime,” Rubio said.
He also urged the international community to increase pressure on the Cuban government over its human rights record.
“The international community must stop turning a blind eye to the human rights abuses of the Cuban regime and join us in demanding an end to their repression,” Rubio said.
Otero Alcántara, a prominent Cuban dissident artist, arrived in Miami after spending five years in prison in Cuba.