Republishing this post from September 2007. For update, see below.
Cuban political prisoners come from all walks of life:
Doctors. Lawyers. Journalists. Librarians. Farmers. Students. The only thing many of them have in common, is their opposition to tyranny.
And where they currently reside.
Máximo Omar Ruiz Matoses comes from a very different part of Cuban society.
He used to be a cog in the machinery of dictatorship in Cuba. He was a lieutenant colonel in a coast guard unit operated by the Ministry of Interior (MININT).
But at some point, and for some reason we probably can understand, he grew disllusioned with Castroism, and joined with others with similar views. I could not find a lot of information about Ruiz, except that in 1991 was arrested, tried and sentenced to 20 years in prison, for the "crimes" of desertion, espionage, illegal exit, disrespect and dishonest behavior.
I also found this picture of his wife, Maria Josefa Cabezas Gutierres:
To see more photographs of family members of Cuba's political prisoners, visit the online exhibit posted here.
UPDATED, July 7, 2009
I don't know when it happened, but Omar Ruiz has been released from prison.
But the dictatorship is still keeping its evil on him, threatening five human rights activists who recently visited him at his home.
One of the surest indicators of the repressive nature of the Castro regime is the jailing of more than 300 political prisoners. To illustrate that reality, Uncommon Sense each week profiles one prisoner. There also is a Political Prisoner archive on the right sidebar. To suggest a prisoner for a profile, send me an e-mail.
For profiles of imprisoned Cuban journalists and related information, read the March 18 Project.
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