CASTRO’S REGIME REACTS AGAINST “ANTÚNEZ” BOOK PRESENTATION IN SANTO DOMINGO
By Cuban Democratic Directorate

Castro regime hurts attacks against former political prisoner Húber Matos and imprisoned author Antúnez on Dominican radio

Dominican Republic, July 3, 2005. The presentation of the book “Boitel Lives: A Testimony from Today’s Cuban Political Prisons,” written by current political prisoner Jorge Luis García Pérez Antúnez in Kilo 7 prison in Camagüey, Cuba, elicited a strong response by part of the Cuban regime and its authorities in the Dominican Republic.

The statement was aired on “Government of the Morning,” one of the most popular radio programs in the Dominican Republic. The declarations made by former Major Húber Matos Benítez, who also wrote the prologue, irked the Castro Regime in such a way that on the following day, they sent Major Delio Gómez Ochoa, a veteran of the Sierra Maestra to dispute his statements.

“Matos was not a Major, when he came from the Sierra he did not have the official title […] Antúnez is a terrorist, that is why he is imprisoned […] In Cuba there have been no tortures, there are no political opponents missing,” were some of the assertations made by Gómez Ochoa on the same radio segment.

The response was not long awaited. On the following day, Matos challenged Delio Gómez Ochoa to a debate face to face and Antúnez’ family denied the false accusations made against the political prisoner.

“The Dominican people do not deserve the lies that Gómez Ochoa has said. In the same prison sentence that condemned me to 20 years in prison, the regime called me Major Húber Matos Benítez. I wish that tortures did not exist in Cuba, for I would not have had to suffer what I did just like many others,” stated Matos in his response. Omar Córdoba, the Cuban ambassador in the Dominican Republic, was not able to rebuke Matos’ affirmation and thus tried to avoid responding to any questions that the journalists from the same radio program would ask him. 

From Placetas, Cuba, Bertha Antúnez affirmed that her brother was imprisoned simply for having a different opinion than that of the Cuban government, and consequently has had to suffer horrifying tortures not only for his position on politics but also for the color of his skin. She also stated that his book is a testimony of what is currently happening in Cuba’s prisons. “If in Cuba there are no tortures made against the political prisoners, then why won’t they open their prisons so that human rights organizations may enter,” said Antúnez on an interview by “Weekly Echos”, broadcast by the Dominican radio station “Musical Wave” this past weekend.

The Dominican Organization of Patriotic Youth provided the information for this statement.

Send by E-mail | Printable Version

About the author

Directorio Democrático Cubano
P.O. Box 110235
Hialeah, Florida 33011
Tel. 305-220-2713
info@directorio.org

In Memory of Mario Manuel de la Peña