SAN LUIS POTOSÍ, Mexico.- Former Cuban political prisoner Idalberto González Gómez, who dedicated more than half a century to the cause of Cuban freedom, died Thursday in Santa Clara at the age of 87, according to a statement from the United Anti-Totalitarian Forum (FANTU), of which he was a member.
“The humble and prestigious Historical Political Prisoner and founder as a Militant of the United Anti-Totalitarian Forum (FANTU) Idalberto González Gómez, affectionately known as ‘El Nene’ among anti-Castro members on the Island and in exile, has just passed away at the age of 87 in the city of Santa Clara, Villa Clara province, Cuba,” according to a heartfelt message on the official FANTU page.. The body of the opponent will be cremated, by family decision.
Idalberto, affectionately nicknamed as “The Kid”He was arrested in April 1961 after being betrayed along with other Cuban compatriots when they were trying to join the expeditionaries of the 2506 Assault Brigade in the Bay of Pigs.
“González Gómez always refused to go into exile from the land of his birth and assumed with integrity all the costs and consequences of being a public anti-communist in the heart of a totalitarian society like Cuba,” the organization wrote.
Born on November 26, 1936 in Santa Clara, Gonzalez He was held in the UMAP (Military Units for Production Assistance). After his release by the regime, he faced great difficulties in finding work.
He consecrated the rest of his life to the peaceful struggle for freedom and democracy in Cuba and was a promoter of human rights in Santa Clara.
He was part of several Cuban dissident organizations, participated in awareness-raising projects for the population and, together with Tomás González-Coya, president of the Cuban Nationalist Civic Movement, carried out Operation Rescue, which helped identify people buried in unmarked graves by Fidel Castro’s dictatorship, reported the website Memory of the Nation.
In 2019, the radio station Radio Republic He was awarded the “Porfirio Ramírez” prize, conferred jointly by the Cuban Democratic Directorate, based in Miami, the opposition movement Juventud Despierta and the National Front of Civic Resistance, based on the island.
“Men and women like Idalberto González Gómez are true patriots with the experience of a lifetime of fighting against diabolical communism,” FANTU said.
