Cuban rapper Maykel Osorbo arrested for criticising communist government

A Cuban dissident rapper who co-wrote a viral song criticising the communist government has been in prison for two weeks, his friend announced on Thursday after the singer was allowed to make his first call.

Maykel Osorbo, who co-produced the track "Patria y Vida" ("Fatherland and Life"), is arrested of crimes that include "resistance" and "contempt", his friend Camila Lobon told AFP via WhatsApp.

The 37-year-old artist 'was able to call after 14 days told his friends where he was, she said.

The US Embassy in Cuba has tweeted a message from Samantha Power, administrator of the US International Development Agency (USAID), criticizing the detention of Osorbo 'and many other artists who dare to claim human rights.

"They must put an end to this unfortunate attempt to silence free thinking and debate," she said.

USAID faced criticism in 2014 when an Associated Press investigation found that the agency used Cuban rappers 'to break the information blockade' and build a network of young people who wanted 'social change', according to documents.

However, the AP said the operation was amateurish and unsuccessful. It is not known if Osorbo was involved, and many of the artists knew nothing about the operation.

The government website Cubadebate, citing Interior Ministry sources, said Osorbo was "provisionally detained for the crimes of assault, public disorder and escape of prisoners or prisoners, which he committed on April 4, 2021."

On that date, residents of the San Isidro neighbourhood, where Osorbo lives, gathered in his street to prevent police from arresting him on the way to do some shopping.

Images of the event, which were broadcast live via Facebook, showed people with Osorbo and fellow dissident artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, singing "Patria y Vida" and singing anti-government slogans, a rare event in the one-party state.

Osorbo was arrested on May 18 and ordered to be detained. According to Cubadebate, he was transferred to Pinar del Rio Prison 160 km west of Havana on May 31, claiming to have been in telephone contact with his lawyer and his wife.