Background

Cubalex, a Cuban legal-aid and human-rights organisation founded in 2010 in Havana by lawyer Laritza Diversent, provides free legal assistance to victims of state repression. Cuban State Security raided its offices in September 2016 and confiscated roughly 200 client files; Diversent and her team fled into exile, reaching Miami in May 2017, where Cubalex now operates.

In July 2026 Cubalex warned that Cuban authorities might file a fresh charge against artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara to keep him detained beyond the legal expiry of his five-year sentence . Otero was removed from Guanajay prison a day before his scheduled release, his whereabouts unverified, the kind of arbitrary-detention pattern Cubalex has documented since its founding.

Common Questions

Who founded Cubalex?

Cuban lawyer Laritza Diversent founded Cubalex in Havana in 2010 to provide free legal aid to victims of state repression.

What does Cubalex do?

Cubalex documents arbitrary detention and pre-trial charge abuses in Cuba and provides legal assistance to those affected, now operating from exile in Miami.

Why did Cubalex warn about Otero Alcántara's release?

Cubalex said Cuban authorities might file a new charge against Otero Alcántara to keep him detained past the legal expiry of his sentence.Source: event

Where is Cubalex based now?

Cubalex has operated from exile in Miami, Florida since its Havana staff fled Cuba in 2017.

What is Cubalex saying about Otero Alcantara's disappearance?

Cubalex and Diario de Cuba say the Cuban state still owes a formal account for the 7-17 July 2026 period when Otero Alcantara's whereabouts were unverified, separate from his current exile in Miami.Source: event

Did Cuba meet the UN deadline on Otero Alcantara's disappearance?

Unclear. No monitored outlet had confirmed by 25 July 2026 whether Cuba filed its report to the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances.Source: event

How the World Sees Them

Unión Eléctrica (UNE), Cuba's state grid operator

ridícula y torpe mentira

Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX)

castigo colectivo

US State Department

continues to ally itself with America's enemies

Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs

criminal and genocidal

United States (Mike Waltz / OFAC)

this is not Havana

European Union

Has not yielded the expected results

Cuban Government

We are not doing this because of Yankee pressure

Cuban opposition and human-rights monitors

Belated Chinese-style reforms

United States (State Department)

What they announced yesterday is not dramatic enough. It's not going to fix it.