Havana, Cuba, Aug 6, 2013 / 11:45 am
A Spanish national who accompanied Cuban dissident leader Oswaldo Paya on the day that he died, has charged that the death was not an accident, but a deliberate act by the Cuban secret service.
Claims that Paya died in a car accident were "the perfect alibi to cover up the death of the only opposition figure that could have the lead the transition in Cuba," Ángel Carromero told the newspaper El Mundo in an interview published August 5.
Contrary to these accounts, Carromero said, Paya survived the collision with a government vehicle that forced them off the road.
"I am sure that he was alive after the accident," he said. "The nurses and a priest assured me that all four of us were taken to the hospital."