Orlando Zapata

Orlando Zapata Tamayo (May 15, 1967 – February 23, 2010) was a Cuban political activist and a political prisoner His death received international attention, and was viewed as a significant setback in Cuba's relationship with the U.S. the EU and the rest of the world.

Biography Early life Orlando Zapata was the second son of a family of five brothers based in Banes, where he lived with his mother, a washerwoman by profession, and his stepfather. Looking for a better future, he emigrated to Havana, where he came into contact with former political prisoner Enri Saumell Peña, with whom he began in political activism. He was a member of the Republican Alternative Movement.

Imprisonment Zapata was arrested on December 6, 2002, by agents of the Cuban police on charges of contempt, for which he was imprisoned for over three months. On March 20, 2003, 13 days after he was freed, he was arrested for a second time during a crackdown on dissidents and sent to the Kilo 7 prison in Camagüey. At the time of his arrest, he was participating in a hunger strike organized by the Assembly to Promote a Civil Society, taking place at the home of Marta Beatriz Roque Cabello. As a result, Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience, "imprisoned solely for having peacefully exercised [his] rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly". The socialist Monthly Review, in contrast, expressed skepticism of Amnesty's statement, alleging that Zapata was arrested and convicted several times on charges of fraud, firearm possession, and assault with a machete.

Orlando Zapata Tamayo was moved around several prisons, including Quivicán Prison, Guanajay Prison, and Combinado del Este Prison in Havana. Amnesty International reported that on October 20, as a protest against the Cuban government for having denied him the choice of wearing white dissident clothes instead of the designated prisoner uniform, as well as denouncing the living conditions of other prisoners. As part of his claim, Zapata was asking for conditions comparable to those that Fidel Castro had while incarcerated after his 1953 attack against the Moncada Barracks. For their part, the Cuban government stated he refused food because authorities wouldn't put a TV set, a stove and a phone in his cell.

During the hunger strike Zapata refused to eat any food other than his mother's, who visited him every three months. According to the U.S.-based opposition group Cuban Democratic Directorate, prison authorities then denied Zapata water, which led to his deteriorated health and ultimately kidney failure. where he ultimately died on February 23, 2010, at approximately 3:30 pm EST.

On March 16, 2010, an open letter condemning the Cuban government for the unjust incarceration of Orlando Zapata Tamayo and asking for the release of other political prisoners was posted in an internet blog. In less than a week the letter had obtained over 30,000 signatures. Among the signatories are prominent intellectuals from both the left and right of the political spectrum.

Reactions to death The death of dissident Orlando Zapata Tamayo leads to clampdown in Cuba. Cuban security forces rounded up political activists across the island to prevent protests at the funeral of a leading dissident who died after an 82-day hunger strike. Massive arrests, the cutting off of phone services, and an intense campaign against Zapata's reputation took place in the official media. With regards to Zapata, Cuban Television News said that he had a “long criminal history” and even transmitted a hidden camera recording of his mother inside the hospital.

Regardless, there was domestic opposition, and several international organizations as well as media condemned what had happened. Orlando Zapata Tamayo became a rallying point for the Cuban democratic opposition.

As a result, Zapata's death countered the government's monopoly on media. Unlike the death of the student leader Pedro Luis Boitel, in 1972 after a hunger strike, Zapata's death was reported with sufficient immediacy to provoke extensive backlash. Months after his sacrifice, the process of releasing the prisoners of the Black Spring began.

Raúl Castro took the "unprecedented step" of expressing public regret about the death of Zapata.

The U.S. State Department stated that it was "deeply saddened" by Zapata's death, while the European Union called on Cuba to release its remaining political prisoners. Spain issued a statement remembering Zapata as a "human rights defender", while France expressed "dismay" and stated that its government had been lobbying Cuba on Zapata's behalf. The incident was seen as a significant setback for the thawing of Spanish-Cuban and U.S.-Cuban relations, with one analyst describing it as "the nail in the coffin of Spain's efforts to improve EU-Cuba ties".

On 23 February 2012, the Ladies in White met at the former home of deceased leader Laura Pollan to commemorate the second anniversary of Zapata's death. They were protested by a group of government supporters in coordination with security agents, who chanted "Down with the worms!" and "Long Live Raúl!"

Russian Historian Yuri Doykov dedicated his book to Orlando Zapata