By Juan O. Tamayo/ El Nuevo Herald
Cuba has freed a Cuban-American convicted of people smuggling after an incident in 2006 in which another smuggler was shot to death by Cuban security forces and a third was sentenced to 26 years in prison.
Julio Rafael Mesa Farinas said he was taken Wednesday to the Havana airport directly from the same hospital prison wing where U.S. subcontractor Alan Gross is being held, and flew to Miami with the assistance of U.S. diplomats in Havana. He arrived in Florida on Wednesday.
Gross got into a shouting match with a State Security official after his 15-year prison sentence was upheld on appeal, accusing him of lying by promising “benefits like a reduction in sentence” if he cooperated with the legal process, Mesa said.
Mesa, a 51-year old former Hialeah truck driver recounted his tale in a lengthy telephone interview with El Nuevo Herald Friday.
Julio Rafael Mesa Farinas said he was taken Wednesday to the Havana airport directly from the same hospital prison wing where U.S. subcontractor Alan Gross is being held, and flew to Miami with the assistance of U.S. diplomats in Havana. He arrived in Florida on Wednesday.
Gross got into a shouting match with a State Security official after his 15-year prison sentence was upheld on appeal, accusing him of lying by promising “benefits like a reduction in sentence” if he cooperated with the legal process, Mesa said.
Mesa, a 51-year old former Hialeah truck driver recounted his tale in a lengthy telephone interview with El Nuevo Herald Friday.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/03/2622916/cuba-prisoner-of-hialeah-freed.html#storylink=cpy
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario