Ultimatum to Raúl Rivero?

Here's why, although I'm relieved that Raúl Rivero is out of prison, I'm dubious about the rationale behind it:

Cuba's best-known dissident writer, Raúl Rivero, who won international prizes for both his poetry and his activism, was released from prison Tuesday along with another government critic, bringing the total of dissidents freed this week to five.

But Cuban authorities gave Rivero a year to consider leaving the island, his stepson told The Herald. The alternative, apparently, is a return to prison if he continues speaking out against the communist government.

''They told him he didn't have to leave the country now, that he had a year to think about it,'' said stepson Miguel Sánchez, who lives in Miami and spoke with Rivero by phone. ``His release does not convey the liberation or democratization of Cuba, but it is a relief for his family.''

Exile or prison: the Hobson's choice that dictators give dissidents, whether the dictators are named Castro or Pinochet.

Comments

[Val Prieto]

Yeah. It's all over the media and Rivero basically transfered cells. From a small one to a great big one.

Triste, no?

[Randy Paul]

Triste, si. At least out of prison he doesn't have the same risks to his health that he did inside. Cold comfort, but I think that he'll probably be pressured to leave.

Que pena.