Cuban Photographer Forced To Leave Cuba for His Pictures of Fifo Losing It

Interesting article in today's herald about Cristobal Herrera a Cuban photographer who used to shoot for the AP in Havana who was forced into exile because he refused to follow the directions of the state police to not publish photos he took of fifo's fainting spell and his fall a few years ago.

The article notes:

As a freelance photographer for The Associated Press in Havana, Herrera captured two crucial images of Castro's health slide: his fainting spell while making a speech in 2001 and his dramatic fall after another speech in October 2004.

The two sets of photos appeared in media around the world, boosting Herrera's professional standing but also putting him on the road to forced exile in Costa Rica -- because security forces did not like his images.

''I am condemned to forced exile,'' Herrera, 36, told El Nuevo Herald. ``The Cuban government barred me from returning to my country, without explanations.''

''We had no other option left,'' he said. ``This is the price for doing photojournalism in Cuba.''

Herrera, his wife and 2-year-old daughter left Costa Rica this spring and crossed the Mexico-U.S. border. They arrived in Miami in May, looking for a better life.

Read the entire article here.