14ymedio, Havana, 11 August 2023 — Former Cuban political prisoner Nelson Molinet Espino, 59, was found dead in Florida, where he had lived for years, after disappearing for several days, according to his good friend Normando Hernández, general director of the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and Press and announced on Facebook this Friday.
“Cuba is in mourning. Unfortunately, I inform you that the prisoner of conscience Nelson Molinet Espino, who had been missing since Monday the 7th, was found dead inside a car in Hallandale (Broward County, Florida),” Hernández wrote along with two photographs of the dissident. “Our deepest condolences to your family. May God welcome him in his glory,” he added.
The opponent Ángel Moya also expressed regret for the departure of Molinet Espino. “The patriot, a member of the group of 75, has died.” “Dismayed by tragic news,” he added, “the brothers of cause… who reside in Cuba, express our heartfelt condolences to the relatives of the former Cuban political prisoner and exile in the United States.”
Molinet Espino, an independent union activist sentenced to 20 years in prison during the 2003 Black Spring, went into exile in 2010 after seven years in prison. He was one of the 52 dissidents who accepted, under pressure from the Cuban regime, to go into exile in Spain.
The release of the dissidents in 2010 were the result of a dialogue initiated by the Archbishop of Havana, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, and the mediation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain at the time, Miguel Ángel Moratinos.
Nelson Molinet Espino, who on the Island was the president of the Conference of Democratic Workers of Cuba, was sanctioned in a summary trial full of irregularities. He lived in Miami for more than 10 years.
The dissident’s daughter, Karen Molinet, in statements to América TeVé this week, said that her father, for the years he was imprisoned and after leaving Cuba, “began to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder,” in addition to “loss of memory and inability to communicate well.” The last time he was seen before being reported missing had been last Monday near Hialeah.
CUBA IS IN MOURNING. Unfortunately, I inform you that the Prisoner of Conscience of the Group of 75, Nelson Molinet Espino, who had been missing since Monday the 7th, was found dead inside a car in Hallandale. Our deepest condolences to his family. MAY GOD WELCOME HIM IN HIS MOST HOLY GLORY
Translated by Regina Anavy
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