"2 more Cuban heroes kicked off island, arrive in Spain (UPDATED)"

From the FREEDOM fighting blog Uncommon Sense :


Two Cuban political prisoners will be released, kicked off the island and take exile in Spain as soon as Tuesday, according to Europa Press.



Víctor Arroyo Carmona, accompanied by six family members, and Claro Sánchez Altarriba, traveling with 10 family members are being released and expelled from the island, under terms of a deal struck this summer by Spain, the Catholic Church and the Castro dictatorship. Notably absent from the negotiations were any representatives of the Cuban opposition.


Two other political prisoners, Leonel Grave de Peralta Almenares and Alexis Rodríguez Fernández, were expected to arrive in Spain by the end of the week, according to Europa Press.


Like the other prisoners who have left for Spain this summer, all four have been imprisoned since the "black spring" of 2003.


If all four make it out of Cuba, that would bring to 32 the number of prisoners released under the Spain-church-Castro deal announced in early July.


(Which again raises the question: If the Castro dictatorship was efficient enough to arrest more than 80 dissidents over a 3-day period during the "black spring" crackdown, why does it take so long to release them?)


Of the remaining 20, at least five — and maybe as many as 10 — have rejected the chance to be released if it means they have to leave Cuba.


And while church officials have touted the fact that under the agreement all 52 prisoners will be released, they have yet to sufficiently explain what will happen to those prisoners who refuse to accept exile.