Cuba Offered Exile to Two Political Prisoners After U.S. Talks

Cuban state security agents offered two imprisoned artists the choice between exile and continued imprisonment days after secret talks between U.S. and Cuban officials in Havana, according to exclusive audio obtained by USA TODAY. The offers were made to Maykel Castillo Pérez, 42, on April 15 at Kilo 8 maximum-security prison in Pinar del Río, and to Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara the following day at a maximum-security prison in Guanajay, southwest of Havana.

U.S. officials had told Cuban counterparts on April 10 that they had two weeks to free political prisoners as a measure of goodwill. Both men agreed to exile. The two-week deadline passed without their release. They and at least a dozen other political prisoners are now at the center of high-stakes negotiations between the United States and Cuba.

Otero grew up in the San Isidro neighborhood near the Port of Havana and became friends. They helped form the San Isidro Movement, a collective of artists, musicians and writers protesting lack of freedoms on the island. In 2021, Castillo co-created the song “Patria y Vida,” which denounced restrictions on freedoms and became an anthem for widespread street protests.

The song’s video gained more than 1 million views on YouTube. Castillo was arrested on May 18, 2021, charged with contempt of authority and defamation of state institutions, and sentenced to nine years in prison. Otero was arrested in July 2021 on his way to street protests and later sentenced to five years.

Human Rights groups said at least 1,000 people were detained during the demonstrations. There are currently more than 1,250 political prisoners in Cuban jails and prisons, according to the Madrid-based group Prisoners Defenders.

The April 10 meeting in Havana occurred five days before the first prison visit to Castillo. A State Department official told USA TODAY that the Cuban regime continues to show indifference to the suffering of the Cuban people and is still holding hundreds of political prisoners.

The official said President Trump favors a diplomatic solution but will not allow Cuba to deteriorate into a greater national security threat. Eric Jacobstein, who was deputy assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the State Department at the time, said the process involved Cuba receiving a long list of names and releasing some but not others.

Right before leaving office, the Biden administration announced on Jan. 14, 2025, that Cuba would be removed from the state sponsor of terrorism list. The Trump administration later restored the designation. Cuba has faced expanded U.S. sanctions, tightened financial channels and a fuel blockade following operations in Venezuela.

The island has experienced rolling blackouts, strain on hospitals and widespread food insecurity. Talks between the two sides came close to a deal in March but later soured. At the April 10 meeting, U.S. officials proposed bringing Starlink high-speed internet to Cuba.

The current negotiations could lead to expanded trade, business ties and eased travel restrictions if an agreement is reached. " — Anamely Ramos (USA TODAY) Castillo’s weight has fluctuated in prison and he has developed boils, according to Anamely Ramos, a close friend who speaks with both men by phone.

He has a 10-year-old daughter named Jade. Ramos said she would like to see both men freed.