Posted on Tue, Jun. 10, 2008
By DANICA COTO
Associated Press Writer
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico --
A leading Cuban dissident said Tuesday that he plans to return to the
communist-run island after a nearly two-year absence to fight for the
freedom of political prisoners.
Hector Palacios, who was in Puerto Rico for a two-day visit, told
reporters that he and his wife Gisela Delgado - also a Cuban dissident -
would soon travel back to their Caribbean homeland to resume leadership
of his outlawed opposition group, Liberal Unity.
Palacios, 66, was incarcerated in 2003 on charges of undermining Cuba's
communist system. He was released on medical parole in December 2006,
cutting short a 25-year prison sentence.
"We want a country where people can live in peace," Palacios said
Tuesday, adding that he is willing to meet with President Raul Castro,
who succeeded his elder brother, Fidel, in February. "Change is going to
happen."
Palacios said he does not fear being imprisoned again in Cuba and that
he looks forward to helping liberate the roughly 230 political prisoners
he claims are on the island.
It will be a hard fight, Palacios said.
"There's one obstacle," he said. "Fidel is alive."
Palacios was among 75 dissidents rounded up in March 2003 on charges
they were U.S. mercenaries working to undermine Cuba's communist system
- accusations the activists and Washington denied. The Cuban crackdown
was protested by governments and rights organizations across the globe.
His 2006 release from prison because of heart and respiratory problems
marked the first high-profile release since Fidel Castro ceded power to
his younger brother, who has implemented a series of reforms since
taking over the government.
U.S. President George W. Bush on Tuesday called on Raul Castro to free
all political prisoners, speaking in Slovenia during a U.S.-European
Union summit.
The Cuban government says it holds no prisoners of conscience, only
common criminals, and typically characterizes political opponents as
mercenaries and traitors.
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