- Title: US awards outspoken Cuban dissident with 'Woman of Courage' honor
- Date: 1st March 2024
- Summary: HAVANA, CUBA (FEBRUARY 23, 2024) (REUTERS) CUBAN DISSIDENT MARTA BEATRIZ ROQUE ARRIVING AT INTERVIEW ROQUE SEEN THROUGH CAMERA MONITOR (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CUBAN DISSIDENT AND FORMER ECONOMY PROFESSOR, MARTA BEATRIZ ROQUE, SAYING: "We were trying to do that all the time, trying to unite the people so that the people would demonstrate against the government. We didn't succ
- Embargoed: 15th March 2024 18:54
- Keywords: Cuba Marta Beatriz Roque US award dissident opposition politics
- Location: HAVANA, CUBA
- City: HAVANA, CUBA
- Country: Cuba
- Topics: South America / Central America,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001450529022024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The United States on Friday (March 1) honored a Cuban dissident who for decades has defied the communist-run government with her on-island advocacy of human rights, a move likely to irritate Havana.
Marta Beatriz Roque, 78, a former economics professor and outspoken critic of the Cuban government, will be one of 12 recipients globally of the U.S. International Woman of Courage award, according to a U.S. State Department press release.
Roque was the only woman among 75 dissidents imprisoned in
a 2003 crackdown on the opposition that drew international condemnation.
Roque has often been detained during her 35 years advocating for human rights and political reform on the island, she told Reuters in an interview in Havana. She said she served nearly five years in prison in two separate sentences.
Roque called her time in prison "horrible" but said her work had been necessary to raise awareness of a growing anti-government movement inside Cuba.
The U.S. decision to honor a Cuban dissident will do little to thaw the still frosty relationship between Cuba and the United States, which has seen scarce improvement since Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden took over from Republican Donald Trump in 2021.
The Cuban government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the award.
Recipients have been invited to attend a reception hosted by U.S. first lady Jill Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the White House in Washington on March 4, but Roque said the Cuban government had forbidden her to travel to the
United States.
Cuba has long accused Roque of receiving funding from the U.S. government, which she denies.
Roque said she was grateful for the recognition but said that change would only come from inside Cuba.
(Production: Carlos Carrillo, Gloria Lopez) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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