Cuban man's family kept on island, despite U.S. visas

SOUTH FLORIDA
Cuban man's family kept on island, despite U.S. visas
By JUAN CARLOS CHAVEZ
El Nuevo Herald

A Cuban man who lost both of his arms -- after he tried to escape from
prison following a failed attempt to reach Florida -- denounced the
Cuban government Wednesday for keeping his family on the island even
though they have been issued visas to join him in the United States.

In March 2007 Jorge Albart Rodriguez detailed how he injected petroleum
into his own arms during the 1980s in an attempt to escape from a Cuban
prison.

''All of the frustration and pain I felt while locked up does not
compare to the suffering of not having my family reunited,'' he said
Wednesday. ``They should already be in Miami, but the Cuban government
has delayed the authorization for their exit without offering an
explanation.''

He said he suspected that the publicity given to his ordeal never sat
well with Cuban authorities who have blocked the departure of his wife,
Judith, and their sons Jury, 9, and Jorge, 19. His family had been due
to arrive to the United States in September.

''The nightmare is not over and I don't know what else I can do,''
Albart said.

This was not Albart's first tangle with the Cuban government. He was
arrested at age 16 for trying to reach Florida aboard a precarious
vessel. He said he was sentenced to four years in prison, and kept in
isolation.

The conditions he was subjected to prompted Albart to take risky actions
without thinking of the consequences. He injected petroleum into his
arms so he would be taken to the emergency room -- hoping he would be
able to escape from there.

He did not count on the jailers not believing him, and denying him
immediate medical attention. The result was a serious infection and the
subsequent amputation of his arms.

Years later, Albart tried twice to flee Cuba, but did not succeed. He
finally paid smugglers to take him to Mexico, though they robbed him of
what little he had just before he crossed the border into the United States.

''It was nearly a month long voyage in search of a better future, for
the idea of one day being happy with my family. Despite everything, I
haven't lost hope of seeing them,'' said Albart, who earns a living by
selling avocados and flowers on the street.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/cuba/story/779532.html