MIAMI, United States. – The Cuban rapper and plastic artist Fernando Almenares Rivera, known as Nando Obdc, was transferred to Villa Marista, State Security headquarters, where he is being investigated for alleged links to a fire that recently occurred in Lenin Park.
The information was confirmed to Cuban Diary by the artist’s wife, Adrianna Machado, who resides in the United States.
“His mother was able to see him this Tuesday and says she found him well and calm,” stated Machado, detailing that the instructor in charge of the case “is relating it to a fire that occurred in Lenin Park.” He also added that the family began the procedures to hire a lawyer and filed an appeal for habeas corpus in the Provincial Court of Havana.
After his arrest on December 31, Nando Obdc was held in the 7th. Police Unit, in La Lisa, until the authorities announced that they would investigate him for alleged “terrorism”, which is why he was transferred to Villa Marista.
According to Machado’s version, last Thursday the home of the artist’s mother was searched by State Security agents and Criminalistics experts who arrived “with six cars.” The young woman explained to Cuban Diary that the agents searched the entire house “looking for any hidden memories or information,” photographed the murals he had painted on the walls and confiscated a Cuban flag.
The political police also assured, according to Machado, that “Nando has ties to people who live in the United States and want to commit violent acts in Cuba,” an accusation denied by the rapper’s wife.
This is not the first time that the artist has faced arrests or acts of violence for his activism and his protest work, which includes participation in campaigns such as Exprésate, Fuego contra el Fuego and Arte Prohibido.
Nando Obdc, 34, has reported harassment by Cuban authorities in the last decade. A native of the San Agustín district, in La Lisa, the artist combines protest rap and plastic arts with political content. His activism has linked him with other figures of the independent scene, including the rapper Al2 El Aldeano and the graffiti artist El Sexto.
In different interviewsthe musician has denounced previous arrests, beatings and threats by State Security. With his project Arte Prohibido, he has undertaken initiatives that seek to expose censorship and the limits to freedom of expression in Cuba, as well as its impact on the most disadvantaged communities.
Several years ago, the rapper tried to emigrate to the United States from Mexico, where he obtained an artist exchange scholarship, but he was deported to Cuba under the protection of the Mexican authorities in the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Raúl Castro and Enrique Peña Nieto to “guarantee a regular, orderly and safe migratory flow.” After his forced return, the pressure on him increased.
