By: Daniel Nardini
Spanish citizen Angel Carromerro is on trial for his life for the death of former Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya. Back on July 22nd, Paya and another leading Cuban dissident, Harold Cepero, were killed in an automobile accident when the car they were in hit an unpaved road and lost control thereby hitting a tree. This is the official Cuban government version. Carromero, who was the driver, was charged with reckless homicide and is now on trial in Havana. No one, especially of the two men who were killed, believe that it was anything Carromero did. If it indeed was an accident, then Carromerro should be set free. Why should be be tried for reckless homicide? If convicted, Carromerro could be sentenced to 10 years in prison. Despite claims to the contrary, the trial is not open to the public. It is most certainly not open to the families of Paya and Cepero who want answers from the Cuban government.
In fact, the families of Paya and Cepero do not accept the version that it was an accident and that Carromerro was to blame. They believe that Paya and Cepero might have been murdered by the Cuban government. The car could have been tampered with—leading to the crash and the death of these two men. No one can prove anything because the Cuban government is keeping all evidence under raps. For something that should have been little more than an accident, why is the Cuban government going to great lengths to try Carromerro? Why is the evidence being withheld from public scrutiny? Why is the trial closed to the public, and to the families of the dead dissidents? Why are all other witnesses, whoever they may be, being kept from public view? None of this sounds like a simple accident inquiry to me. If the Cuban government had no hand in this, it would have come clean on all of the circumstances and we would know exactly what happened. If indeed it was an accident, Carromerro should have gone free.
But things are not all they appear to be in Cuba. We must remember that the Cuban government routinely threatens, imprisons, tortures and even murders political and religious dissidents. Although it is only a theory, it does seem plausible that perhaps, just perhaps, Oswaldo Paya was targeted for assassination by the Cuban government because he had become a thorn in its side for too long. The families of Paya and Cepero are calling for an independent investigation by another country or by the United Nations into the accident that killed Paya and Cepero. No one in Cuba believes that there is any judicial transparency under the Communist Party of Cuba, and that something or someone else must get to the bottom of this incident.
What Judicial Transparency in Cuba?
By: Daniel Nardini
In fact, the families of Paya and Cepero do not accept the version that it was an accident and that Carromerro was to blame. They believe that Paya and Cepero might have been murdered by the Cuban government. The car could have been tampered with—leading to the crash and the death of these two men. No one can prove anything because the Cuban government is keeping all evidence under raps. For something that should have been little more than an accident, why is the Cuban government going to great lengths to try Carromerro? Why is the evidence being withheld from public scrutiny? Why is the trial closed to the public, and to the families of the dead dissidents? Why are all other witnesses, whoever they may be, being kept from public view? None of this sounds like a simple accident inquiry to me. If the Cuban government had no hand in this, it would have come clean on all of the circumstances and we would know exactly what happened. If indeed it was an accident, Carromerro should have gone free.
But things are not all they appear to be in Cuba. We must remember that the Cuban government routinely threatens, imprisons, tortures and even murders political and religious dissidents. Although it is only a theory, it does seem plausible that perhaps, just perhaps, Oswaldo Paya was targeted for assassination by the Cuban government because he had become a thorn in its side for too long. The families of Paya and Cepero are calling for an independent investigation by another country or by the United Nations into the accident that killed Paya and Cepero. No one in Cuba believes that there is any judicial transparency under the Communist Party of Cuba, and that something or someone else must get to the bottom of this incident.