Raul Rivero

Raul Rivero

"In their 2003 book The Dissidents, Rosa Elizalde and Luis Baez discuss the Cuban operations which led to the March 2003 arrests, and the evidence used in court. They show detailed evidence of support for Rivero (in particular) from the US Office of Interests in Havana (there is no US Consulate), and of donations to Rivero from the Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation (CANF)." also see

"PEN Center USA (PEN USA) has awarded its 2003 Freedom to Write prizes to imprisoned Cuban poet and journalist Raul Rivero Castaneda, and to the Sierra Leone PEN Centre in recognition of courage in the face of repression."

"One example is that of Raul Rivero, an accomplished poet and journalist who founded the unofficial press agency Cuba Press. Using a manual typewriter to produce his reports, he often wrote on political and economic conditions in Cuba. For this, he was accused under Article 91 of the Penal Code of carrying out unspecified “subversive activities, aimed at affecting the territorial independence and integrity of Cuba.” The regime also accused him of disseminating “false news to satisfy the interests of his sponsors of the North American government” and of associating with Reporters Without Borders and Agence France Presse. The regime cited his typewriter as evidence of his guilt. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Despite this type of intimidation and the scarcity of basic materials, civil society activists continually seek the means by which they can exercise their skills and their rights. Hence, increasing the amount of basic equipment available to them is vital."

""Encuentro” is a Spanish word that stands for English „meeting”. It’s a magazine devoted to Cuban culture established in 1996 in Madrid. It shows up every three months but the articles are posted every day on the internet. As an example there are chronicles and reports written by twelve independent journalists from Havana. It also has regular co-workers such as Raul Rivero, the most famous Cuban writer, journalist, essayist and one of the leading members of the dissident’s movement. He was arrested and imprisoned during the wave of repressions of the Black Spring in 2003. He was released in April 2005 under the influence of public opinion. Currently he’s living in emigration in Spain with his wife Blanca Reyes – one of the Lades in White.

"The founder of Encuentro was Jesus Diaz – famous Cuban writer, journalist and a political refugee, who passed away in 2002."

"The jailed Cuban journalist Raúl Rivero Castañeda was today awarded the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize for 2004 by UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura, on the recommendation of an international jury.

“The Prize is a tribute to Raúl Rivero’s brave and longstanding commitment to independent reporting, the hallmark of professional journalism,” Mr Matsuura said upon endorsing the recommendation to award the prize to Mr Rivero. “Over the years, Mr Rivero has paid dearly for that commitment and the Prize celebrates the continuing struggle of media professionals for freedom of expression, an indispensable component of democracy,” Mr Matsuura added. “I am deeply concerned about the conditions in which Mr Rivero, who is reported to be ill, is being held and I call on the authorities to free Mr Rivero and the other journalists.”

"The jury was chaired by Jamaica’s Oliver Clarke, Chairman of Gleaner Company Limited, who declared: “I hope that the international attention the Prize generates, will encourage the Cuban authorities to respect individuals’ basic human right to express their views freely.”"

One of his articles Raul Rivero. Published Monday, November 15, 1999, in the Miami Herald was reproduced on CubaNet.

His wife Blanca Reyes.
 * Inter American Press Association: Directors/Advisory Board
 * Winner of the 1997 Reporters Sans Frontieres-Fondation de France prize