Cuba’s Raul Castro says he regrets death of dissident after hunger strike

Cuban president regrets dissident’s death

HAVANA — Cuban President Raul Castro issued an unprecedented statement of regret over the death of a jailed dissident after a lengthy hunger strike that has sparked condemnation in Washington and in European capitals.

The Cuban leader blamed the United States for the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, but did not explain how Washington was responsible.

“Raul Castro laments the death of Cuban prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo, who died after conducting a hunger strike,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday, adding that any reports that the man was tortured or mistreated in jail were false. Zapata Tamayo launched the hunger strike to protest what he said were poor prison conditions on the island.

“There are no torture victims, there have not been any torture victims nor have there been any executions,” the ministry quoted Castro as saying during a joint appearance with Brazilian President Luiz Igancio Lula da Silva that was closed to media on the island.

“That sort of thing happens at the base at Guantanamo,” it added, referring to the U.S. military base in eastern Cuba that has been used to jail terror suspects.

Cuban officials almost never comment on dissident activity, which they view as illegitimate and a creation of Washington. Castro weighing in personally was a first.