Cuba put four dissidents on a flight bound for the United States, an opposition member said Wednesday, calling their release "a gift" to US President Barack Obama. The development comes days before Obama makes a historic visit to Cuba, a milestone in the political rapprochement between the former Cold War foes.
The four dissidents - Niorvis Rivera, Aracelio Riviaux, Vladimir Morera and Jorge Ramirez - previously had been released in 2014, only to be subsequently rearrested.
"They were taken out of their jails Tuesday and taken to the Combinado del Este prison in Havana, where they filled out their immigration paperwork and travelled the same day to the United States," Jose Daniel Ferrer, a dissident, told AFP.
A fifth dissident, Yohannes Arce, who was released in January 2015, is set to fly to the United States on Thursday, he said.
Ferrer, who is among a group of dissidents slated to meet the US president Tuesday in Havana, said the release was "like a gift for Obama."
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