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HAVANA — Cuban President Raul Castro issued an unprecedented statement of regret Wednesday over the death of a jailed dissident after a lengthy hunger strike that has sparked condemnation in Washington and in European capitals.
“We took him to Cuba’s best hospitals, and he died. We very much regret it,” Castro said of Orlando Zapata Tamayo. Zapata Tamayo, little known before his death, had been jailed since 2003 on charges including disrespecting authority.
Also Wednesday, Brazil’s president said Fidel Castro is “exceptionally well,” according to Brazil’s news media.
Luis Inacio Lula da Silva spent more than an hour discussing “various topics” with the 83-year-old Castro, who ceded power to his younger brother Raul in 2006.
