Michael Peralta, son of Cuban-American professor Alina López Miyares, sentenced to 13 years in prison by a Cuban military court, gave an interview to CNN in which he demanded that his mother's release be part of the ongoing discussions between the United States and Cuba, and warned that any agreement that does not include prisoners like her would be "an absolute failure."
The interview comes in a context of economic pressure on the Cuban regime due to the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration. A source from the State Department confirmed to CNN that the administration has raised the case of López Miyares with the Cuban authorities, advocating for his release on humanitarian grounds.
Peralta described his mother's situation as critical. "The last thing she shared with me is that things are tough right now in Cuba. There are several blackouts, but she is desperate to return home. And she continues to pray every day to be back here in Florida soon, back in the United States," he stated.
López Miyares, born in Cuba in 1959 and a U.S. citizen since childhood, was arrested at Havana airport in January 2017. She was attempting to catch a flight back to the United States when she received a trap call from her husband in prison.
In October of that year, the military court of Marianao sentenced her to 13 years for espionage, despite being a civilian. Her husband, former Intelligence Lieutenant Colonel Félix Martín Milanés Fajardo, received 17 years in the same trial.
In July 2022, another military court granted her conditional release for good behavior and health issues, with a prohibition on leaving Cuba until 2030. However, by the end of 2023—coinciding with the arrest of former U.S. Ambassador Manuel Rocha, accused of spying for Cuba for over 40 years—the family claims that the regime returned her to custody in an undisclosed location, where she remains to this day.
Peralta also raised concerns about his mother's health, as she suffers from at least two serious conditions that may require surgery, but she is reluctant to have the operation in Cuba due to the state of the healthcare system. He also noted indications that the regime might be using her as a bargaining chip: "There have been subtle signals from my mother that the Cubans want something in return for her. So it seems to me they might want to use her as some kind of pawn."
The case is marked by a series of family tragedies. Her father passed away in 2019 at the age of 97 while she was serving her sentence; her mother died in September 2022 at the age of 94 in Miami without being able to see her daughter free, and Cuba denied the humanitarian permit for López Miyares to attend the funeral. "She couldn't even witness the burial of either of her parents," her son recalled.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared in 2022 that her detention was arbitrary and demanded her immediate release, a resolution that Havana ignored. The organization Prisoners Defenders estimates that Cuba currently holds more than 1,200 political prisoners.
"I love you. I miss you. And it’s time for you to come home and be close to your family," said Peralta when asked what he would tell his mother, who has been detained on the island for nine years.
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