The independent journalist and Cuban political prisoner Lázaro Yuri Valle Roca was exiled by the Castro regime of the Island and is expected to arrive in the United States this Wednesday.
Valle Roca, who has been unjustly imprisoned for almost three years, will leave the country after his wife, Eralidis Frómeta, arranged at the US embassy in Havana the possibility of obtaining humanitarian parole.
The news was confirmed by the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and the Press (ICLEP) on its website, where it stated that the condition imposed by the Cuban regime's intelligence services was that he/she leave the country.
In this context, on May 15th, Valle Roca was taken by the authorities of the Combinado del Este prison, where he was incarcerated, to carry out immigration procedures, and was returned to the prison where he remained until his release," he emphasized.
"Yuri is finally free, although under the painful context of exile," commented Normando Hernández, general director of ICLEP, who received a message from Eralidis detailing that the couple took flight 2678 with a landing time of 10:35 am.
Hernández lost communication with the woman, but later confirmed on the American Airlines website that the flight was delayed by 20 minutes and was supposed to arrive at 10:55 am.
Lázaro Yuri was arrested on June 15, 2021, after filming and disseminating a video in which activists threw leaflets from a rooftop in Havana with phrases from José Martí, calling for the release of political prisoners, the celebration of free elections, and democracy in Cuba. In 2022, he was tried and sentenced to five years in prison for continuous dissemination of enemy propaganda.
Normando Hernández made a call to human rights organizations and the Cuban exile to support him and facilitate his integration into the United States and ensure that he receives the necessary medical attention to recover his physical and psychological health.
He also asked for help so that his daughter and grandchildren, who are still in Cuba, can reunite with him in Miami.
Valle Roca's arrival in Miami marks the end of a painful chapter and the hope of a new beginning. His release is a reminder of the importance of vigilance and international pressure in the fight for human rights and freedom of expression. ICLEP celebrates his freedom, but also recalls that the struggle for justice, human rights, freedom, and democracy in Cuba continues," Hernandez concluded.
The opposition member, communicator for the digital platform Delibera, and grandson of the communist leader Blas Roca Calderío has suffered physical and psychological abuse in recent years that has deteriorated his health.
Last October, the non-governmental organization Cubalex reported that they had been beaten by guards at the Combinado del Este prison.
"... was taken to a management council in the prison, where he was beaten. They also revoked the camp measure, sending him to the maximum-security prison within the same prison complex," Cubalex said.
Days later, his wife visited him in prison and found him very weak, without strength for anything, and in a physical condition like that of a person with a terminal illness.
"They are letting him die, his situation is critical to the point where a fatal outcome could occur," he assured.
In September, for four days, Valle Roca received his first pass to visit his house.
Outside of prison, he reported that he was not receiving medical attention and that his health condition was very delicate. "I am deaf, I have memory loss, I am losing my sight, I am thin," the journalist pointed out.
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