Diaz-Balart comments on the one-year Anniversary of Orlando Zapata Tamayo's death

Miami, FL. – Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) comments on the one-year anniversary of Orlando Zapata Tamayo’s death. Diaz-Balart comments:

“On this solemn day, we commemorate the first anniversary of the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, one of Cuba's greatest heroes.

“Zapata Tamayo was imprisoned in Castro's gulag since March 20, 2003. He began a hunger strike on December 3, 2009 to protest the cruelty in Castro's prisons. Zapata Tamayo died on February 23, 2010 after he had been beaten, denied water, and forced to lay naked under an air conditioner until he developed pneumonia. Even after his death, the regime continues to torment his grieving mother, Reina Luisa Tamayo.

“Zapata Tamayo's ultimate sacrifice serves as a grim reminder of the regime's egregious human rights abuses and the hundreds of other prisoners of conscience languishing in Castro's prisons. Zapata Tamayo used the only possession left to him - his own body - to bear witness to the torturous prison conditions that he witnessed. His strength in the face of brutality powerfully demonstrates the tenacity of the Cuban people in their struggle for freedom.

“The regime's days are numbered. While the dictatorship and its ruthless depravity will soon be relegated to the ash heap of history, the heroism of people like Orlando Zapata Tamayo will be honored and celebrated for years to come.”