The US business manager in Cuba spoke with the dissident on the liberation of political prisoners and respect for human rights on the island.
Madrid, Spain.- The United States Business Manager in Havana, Mike Hammer, visited the economist this week and opposition leader Cuban Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello at home.
According to the American embassy, during the meeting issues related to the release of political prisoners in Cuba were addressed and the need to guarantee respect for human rights.
Roque, 79, is one of the historical figures of Cuban dissent. In different stages of his life he has faced convictions and harassment by the regime. She was the only woman in the group of 75 opponents imprisoned during the call “Black spring” of 2003.
Despite the threat of being returned to prison at any time, Martha Beatriz Roque managed to organize in Havana, in May 2005, a national meeting to promote civil society with delegates throughout the country and foreign guests. The event also had the presence of the representative of the United States Interest Office in Havana, James Cason.
In 2007, Roque Cabello was among the candidates nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
In 2024, the US State Department gave Martha Beatriz Roque the International Women of Courage Award, although he could not receive it personally due to the exit restrictions imposed by the Cuban government.
The activist It was hospitalized in Havana at the beginning of this year Due to health complications and subsequently traveled to Miami with a humanitarian visa to receive medical treatment. He returned to Cuba in May.
Hammer’s visit adds to the previous contacts that the diplomat has sustained with the opponent, and reinforces Washington’s interest in maintaining a link with the independent civil society of the island.
Since his arrival in Havana in November 2024, Hammer has deployed a very active public agenda, marked by trips to different provinces, visits to activists, opponents and relatives of political prisoners in their homes and intensive use of social networks. These actions have generated irritation in official Cuban sectors, which accuse him of “inciting to act against the State”
