A Singaporean newspaper, reproduces a report by Reuters that states that the Cuban dictatorship's official newspaper, Granma, ran an interview with Guillermo Fariñas' doctor, Dr. Armando Caballero. The interview [in Spanish] delves into details of Guillermo's medical status. It goes so far as to warn of the possible imminent death of the opposition activist if he continues to refuse nourishment.

One particular section of the interview deals with the cost of the medical attention to Fariñas. This is especially ironic in a country that has boasted about its so-called free medical attention. How can the doctor calculate the costs associated with the hospital stay of the opposition activist when there has never been publicly known figures of costs associated with the "free" health care to any individual? What is then the cost of maintaining the life of ailing dictator Fidel Castro?

The official article insists on the alleged humanitarian and compassionate character of the regime supposedly on display here. However, there are Ariel Sigler Amaya, and the late Orlando Zapata Tamayo, among many others, to refute such allegations.

Completely absent from the interview are the reasons for Fariñas' hunger strike. There is no mention of gravely ill political prisoners who languish in the "compassionate" regime's horrible prisons, or of any other Cuban prisoners of conscience for that matter.

While we commend Dr. Caballero for his professional dedication to save Coco's life, we soundly condemn the regime's attempt to use it as a propaganda tool to mislead and lie to the world. We challenge the regime to explain to the Cuban people and the rest of the world the real reasons for Guillermo's hunger strike, and most importantly, we continue to demand the immediate and unconditional release of all Cuban political prisoners.