Independent journalist is arrested in Cuba

Published Sunday, October 19, 1997, in the Miami Herald

Independent journalist is arrested in Cuba

Independent journalist Ricardo Gonzalez Alfonso of the Cuba Press agency has been arrested by the Cuban government for undisclosed reasons, according to fellow journalists in Havana.

Ana Luisa Lopez Baeza, another independent journalist, reported that Gonzalez was taken from his home in Havana on Thursday by two security agents. She said one, who identified himself as ``Aramis,'' frequently takes part in roundups of reporters working without government authorization.

Lopez Baeza and Raul Rivero, director of Cuba Press, were at Gonzalez's home when the security agents arrived, she said. When Rivero asked ``Aramis'' why Gonzalez was being arrested, he was told ``for nothing,'' Lopez Baeza reported.