Manuel Vázquez Portal (born 1951 in Morón,

Ciego de Ávila Ciego de Ávila () is a city in the central part of Cuba and the capital of Ciego de Ávila Province. The capital city has a population of about 156,322 and the province 430,507. Geography Ciego de Ávila lies on the Carretera Central highway a ...

province, Cuba) is a Cuban poet, writer and journalist known for his 2003 imprisonment.

Background

Vázquez Portal received a degree in philology from Villa Clara University. Prior to his imprisonment, he worked a variety of jobs, including teaching high school, reporting for state-owned media, and advising at the Ministry of Culture. During his tenure with government media, Vázquez Portal received three official prizes, but in 1995, he was expelled by the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) for expressing dissident opinions. In the same year, he co-founded the independent Cuba Press. He founded another independent news agency, Grupo de Trabajo Decoro, in 1998, working there for the following five years. Among his articles were various criticisms of the national economy and electoral system. Vázquez Portal is married to Yolanda Huerga, with whom he has a son, Gabriel.

Incarceration

In March 2003, the Cuban government launched a general crackdown (later called the "Black Spring") on dissidents, including a number of journalists. Seventy-five people were ultimately arrested, including Vázquez Portal. On 4 April 2004, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for "endangering Cuba's independence" through his articles and his meetings with US officials. Vázquez Portal's imprisonment was condemned by several human rights organizations, including

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

, which designated him a

prisoner of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...

, and

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...

. In late 2003, the

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists. The '' American Journalism ...

awarded him its International Press Freedom Award, which recognizes journalists who show courage in defending press freedom despite facing attacks, threats, or imprisonment. Vázquez Portal was unable to attend the ceremony due to his imprisonment. During his incarceration, Vázquez Portal kept a makeshift diary on sheets of blank paper brought by his family. In June 2003, his wife Huerga smuggled the diary from the prison and shared photocopies with the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. The diary told of poor conditions, including miserable food, constant mosquitoes and flies, and rat infestations in the cells. Huerga also helped found the Ladies in White, a protest group composed of the wives of imprisoned dissidents. In August 2003, Vázquez Portal reportedly joined several other prisoners in a hunger strike, following which the group was split up and transferred to different prisons. He began to suffer from

pulmonary emphysema Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces ( alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema. Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract d ...

and was released for medical reasons in June 2004. He subsequently emigrated to the US with his family, settling in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, where Huerga continued to be active in anti- Castro protests.

References

External links

Manuel Vázquez Portal
''

Freedom Collection Freedom Collection is a digital repository sponsored by the George W. Bush Institute at the George W. Bush Presidential Center on Southern Methodist University's campus in Dallas, Texas. The collection documents major players in human rights and ...

'' interview {{DEFAULTSORT:Vazquez Portal, Manuel 1951 births Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Cuba Cuban dissidents Cuban journalists Cuban male journalists Cuban male poets Living people Cuban prisoners and detainees Black Spring detainees