DISSIDENT LEADER RECOMMENDS GRAVELY ILL ACTIVIST

C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 001081 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CCA E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2017 TAGS: CU PGOV PHUM PINR PREL SUBJECT: DISSIDENT LEADER RECOMMENDS GRAVELY ILL ACTIVIST SEEK TREATMENT IN US Classified By: COM: Michael E. Parmly: For reasons 1.4 b/d ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Leading opposition leader Jorge Luis Garcia Perez ("Antunez") fell seriously ill on 17 November. He is currently hospitalized. Noted dissident Martha Beatriz Roque stated that she fears that Antunez may die in a Cuban hospital and recommends that the US make an offer of treatment in the US. End Summary ¶2. (C) MBR reports that Antunez fell ill on Friday 16 November as he was driving back from Havana with independent journalist Guillermo "Coco" Farinas. MBR reports that Antunez passed out for four minutes and vomited when he regained consciousness. This information has lead MBR to conclude that he may have had a heart attack. They stopped in the town of Ranchuelo for a medical check. The doctors recommended hospitalization but Antunez wanted to return to his home in Santa Clara. He slept overnight in his home. However, in the morning, agents of the state security surrounded his house and he was not able to get out and go to the hospital until the afternoon. The state security probably wanted to prevent his participation in a demonstration which was held in Santa Clara on 17 November to commemorate the second anniversary of the founding of the organization, the Independent Movement for an Alternative Option. He is currently in the Provincial Hospital in Placetas. ¶3. (C) MBR states that state security has taken over controlling access to Antunez in the Hospital. She feels strongly that he is at high risk, and hopes for a offer of medical treatment in the US. She believes that the care in the hospital in Placetas is not of high quality and has arranged for Farinas to drive him from the hospital to her house in Havana on 19 November. She hopes to use her contacts to advocate for proper care in Havana ¶4. (C) Antunez was released on 22 April 2007 after serving a 17 year sentence. At the time of release he told us he suffered from high blood pressure, problems in the lungs and complications due to diabetes. He continues to be one of the most outspoken and activist critics of the Cuban government. He has organized and participated in numerous demonstrations and has been frequently subjected to short term detentions. ¶5. Comment: USINT plans to see Antunez within the next 24 hours. PARMLY