American academia at its finest…
Harvard Professor Claims There Are No Political Prisoners in Cuba
In an online interview in CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS, Harvard University Professor Jorge Dominguez stated:
“The trend line… is now the number of political prisoners is effectively zero. The Cuban government changed its strategy to deal with dissidents away from locking you up and throwing away the key. The new strategy is they will arrest you and hold you for a week and release you. Then if you do something they don’t like they’ll arrest you again and hold you for 72 hours. So the number of people who get arrested is now much higher; the number of people who spend a long time in prison has pretty close to vanished.”
He is correct about the high number of short-term detentions, which average nearly 1,000 per month..
However, Dominguez’s claim that “the number of political prisoners is effectively zero” — is both dangerous and irresponsible.
It’s exactly what the Castro regime wants — for the world to forget those it has unjustly imprisoned.
We understand that Dominguez is sometimes unfazed by tyrants — like when he went to Damascus to deliver a speech at an event “under the esteemed patronage of Her Excellency Mrs. Asma al-Assad, The First Lady of Syria.”
Thus, for the sake of clarity, below is a list of nearly 100 Cuban political prisoners (and the date of their arrest) currently serving long prison terms. Despite Dominguez, they will not be forgotten.
Marcelino Abreu Bonora (2012)
Harold Alcala Aramburo (2003)
Anoy Almeida Perez (2013)
Claro Fernando Alonso Hernandez (1996)
Miguel Alvarez (2012)
Lewis Arce Romero (2003)
Mercedes Arce (2012)
Yohanne Arce Sarmiento (May 2014)
Ariel Arzuaga Pena (2011)
Jose Asencio Lopez (2013)
Lazaro Avila Sierra (2003)
Ernesto Borges Perez (1998)
David Bustamante Rodriguez (May 2014)
Juana Castillo Acosta (2012)
Eliso Castillo Gonzalez (2012)
Jorge Cervantes Garcia (2012)
Maikel Delgado Aramburo (2003)
Jose Angel Diaz Ortiz (2003)
Darian Ernesto Dufuss Preval (May 2014)
Ivan Fernandez Depestre (2013)
Alexander Fernandez Rico (2012)
Angel Figueredo Castellon (May 2014)
Carlos Figueroa Alvarez (May 2014)
Enrique Figuerola Miranda (2012)
Eider Frometa Allen (February 2014)
Angel Frometa Robaina (2012)
Haydee Gallardo Salazar (April 2014)
Sonia Garro (2012)
Alexander Gonzalez Estrada (2003)
Alcibiades Guerra Marin (February 2014)
Miguel Guerra Astie (2013)
Alexis Guerrero Cruz (April 2014)
Ramon Henry Grillo (2003)
Jose Herman Aguilera (1993)
Mario Hernandez Leyva (May 2014)
Roberto Hernandez Barrios (2013)
Eugenio Hernandez Hernandez (2012)
Ricardo Hernandez Ruiz (2011)
Hector Hierrezuelo Marquez (March 2014)
Luis Enrique Labrador Diaz (2011)
Wilmer Ledea Perez (2003)
Rider Lescay Veloz (2007)
Jose Leyva Diaz (2013)
Ruberlandis Maine Villalon (2013)
Sandalio Mejia Zulueta (May 2014)
Yordenis Mendoza Cobas (June 2014)
Juliet Michelena Diaz (2014)
Vladimir Morera Bacallao (2013)
Reinier Mulet Levis (2013)
Ramon Munoz Gonzalez (2012)
Vladimir Ortiz Suarez (2014)
Alexander Otero Rodriguez (2013)
Wilberto Parada Milan (2013)
Leonardo Paumier Ramirez (June 2014)
Ricardo Pelier Frometa (May 2014)
Jorge Perez Puentes (2003)
David Piloto Barcelo (2011)
Emilio Plana Robert (2012)
Daniel Quesada Chavieco (2013)
Jorge Ramirez Calderon (2013)
Angel Yunier Remon Arzuaga (2013)
Rolando Reyes Rabanal (May 2014)
Francisco Reyes Rodriguez (2003)
Aracelio Ribeaux Noa (2012)
Niorvis Rivera Guerra (2012)
Ernesto Riveri Gascon (2012)
Osvaldo Rodriguez Acosta (2012)
Osvaldo Rodriguez Castillo (2012)
Jose Rodriguez Navarro (2013)
Lazaro Romero Hurtado (2012)
Yoelkis Rosabal Florez (May 2014)
Cesar Sanchez Perez (2010)
Angel Santiesteban-Prats (2013)
Rolando Sarraf Trujillo (1995)
Ruben Sintes Rodriguez (2009)
Miguel Angel Tamayo Frias (May 2014)
Ernesto Tamayo Guerra (May 2014)
Yoanny Thomas Gonzalez (2003)
Juan Antonio Torres Fernandez (2011)
Miguel Ulloa Guinar (2013)
Alexei Vargas Martin (2012)
Diango Vargas Martin (2012)
Bianco Vargas Martin (2012)
Juan Carlos Vazquez Osoria (2012)
Julio Vega Santisteban (2013)
Hector Velazquez Gomez (2013)
I expect this guy, like other comparable types, is NEVER going to risk sounding like one of “those people.” That’s considered REALLY bad form in his neck of the woods, and the fact Yale Professor Carlos Eire does it is definitely NOT typical. I just wish people like Dominguez would simply stay away from the whole Cuba topic, so that they would at least do no harm–but of course that’s not happening. Can you imagine how someone like Sonia Garro would feel if she knew what this guy was putting out in his “expert” capacity? He ought to be ashamed.