In a message on the social network X, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs affirmed, in a clear example of bad faith and manipulation of the truth, that "13 years ago, the Cuban regime assassinated pro-democracy leaders Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero".
Lies have short legs, but that does not seem to matter to the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, in his attempt to legitimize Rosa María Payá, imposed by him on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, against the will of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Let us recall the facts: in July 2012, Angel Carromero, deputy secretary general of the organization New Generations, of the conservative Popular Party (PP), in Spain, and Swedish citizen Jens Aron Modig, leader of the Christian Democratic Youth League (KDU), linked to the Swedish right, traveled to Cuba on tourist visas.
They had a mission: to finance members of the counterrevolution and to elaborate illegal plans against the Cuban government, activities condemned by law anywhere in the world.
Thus, on July 22th, while traveling in a car with Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero, they were involved in a traffic accident near the city of Bayamo. The Cubans, who were in the back seat of the car without seat belts, lost their lives.
In his statement to the police at the Bayamo hospital, Carromero, the driver of the car, said that he did not see the sign indicating a construction zone and lost control of the vehicle, crashing into a tree.
Modig explained to Miami's El Nuevo Herald that no other vehicle was involved in the accident, which was confirmed by Carromero in an interview with EFE: "No vehicle hit us from behind", and rejected the theories of a plot, which were already circulating in the media.
In information provided to the Stockholm daily, Modig's father, Lennart Myhr, explained that he spoke with his son after the incident. "At no time did he refer to a persecution by the Cuban intelligence services."
After a trial lasting several weeks, the court sentenced the driver to four years in prison for reckless homicide in October 2012. However, in December 2012, after four months in prison, he was authorized to serve the remainder of his sentence in his home country, under an agreement between Madrid and Havana.
Official investigations, recognized by the Spanish and relevant international justice systems, as well as eyewitness and survivor testimonies, show that the death of Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero was the result of a tragic traffic accident and not a political assassination or conspiracy.
Once again, truth and memory are trafficked to legitimize an impossible: the courage of someone who did not obtain the position by his personal merits, but by means of blackmail and the compromise of his tutor, Marco Rubio.
