On July 22, 2012, after years of death threats against my father, which had become more frequent and intense in the previous months, and after a dubious traffic accident in which my parents almost lost their lives, my mother received a telephone call from Madrid that we will never forget. Reglis Iglesias informed us that something had happened to our friends and companions. Some minutes later we received a text message that said the car in which they were traveling had been rammed and knocked off the road, that there were three people in the hospital and the fourth had disappeared. Some hours later we learned that my father and Harold were dead.
Later we heard the testimonies of people who were in the hospital where they took the survivors and hearing the reading of the first notes taken by the police from witnesses, from the mouth of Captain Fulgencio Medina.
Later we read the Tweets published by Yohandry Fontana, which are on a Cuban government website.
We learned that:
- My father, Harold Cepero, Aron Modig, and Angel Carromero were being followed and monitored by Cuban government State Security from the time they began the trip in Havana.
2. There was at least one other car (a red Lada) traveling nearly parallel with the car in which my father was traveling, and the passenger in this Lada were on the scene of the events even before the arrival of the first of the official witnesses.
3. My father did not receive any medical help before he died and was taken to a hospital only after his death.
4. Harold Cepero Escalante was never taken to an operating room nor to intensive care.
5. They have been unable to prove that Angel Carromero was speeding.
Later we read the text messages of the the surviving foreigners and their friends in Madrid and Stockholm, and they will be published. Later we talked to Angel Carromero, the sole survivor with a full memory of the events and my family and the Christian Liberation Movement had communications Aron Modig and the people who were the recipients of the messages and calls for help from both survivors. We confirmed that:
1. It was not an accident.
2. The car my father, Harold, Aaron and Angel were riding in was intentionally hit from behind by another car, but this blow did not cause the death of any of the passengers.
3. None of the survivors recalled that the car spun around or crashed against any tree.
4. The two foreigners were immediately removed from the scene by men who arrived in another car.
We do not know what happened to my father and my friend, but a few hours later they were both dead. Our families, the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL), our brothers in the struggle and our friends within and outside of Cuba have a right to know how they died and who is responsible for their deaths…
The data we have exposed, the government persecution under which we live in Cuba, and increased repression of the Cuban democracy movement, make me fear for the safety of everyone.
For years State Security directly threatened the life of my father and now pursues and threatens members of my family and of MCL. The Cuban government is responsible for the physical integrity of our two families and the activists of our movement.
My father and Harold dedicated and gave their lives for a peaceful change to bring reconciliation, rights and well-being to our people. This reconciliation requires the recognition of all truth, and forgiveness and good will from its actors. This is the truth we seek and we will not cease until we find it, so we ask for the support of all institutions and people who can help bring about an international investigation into the probable murder of my father and Harold.
They are already in the presence of God and from there they light our way.
Published: February 28, 2013
