The title of the Freedom house article is
“Death of Political Prisoner in Cuba Exposes Systemic Prison Maltreatment and Torture“.

Freedom House condemns the Cuban government for the deplorable prison conditions, torture, and lack of medical attention that led to the death of political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo.

Mr. Zapata Tamayo, aged 42, died in Havana’s Hermanos Ameijeiras hospital Wednesday after carrying out an 85-day hunger strike to protest prison conditions and torture in Cuba. Originally incarcerated during the “Black Spring of 2003,” his sentence was extended in 2004 from 3 to 36 years for so-called “acts of disobedience.” In December 2009, he began a hunger strike to protest systemic maltreatment and torture of himself and others in Cuba’s prisons. Zapata Tamayo died of pneumonia and kidney failure after being refused water for 18 days and placed in front of an air conditioner for an extended period.

“The Castro regime’s inhumane treatment of political prisoners has resulted in the death of an innocent man and our deepest condolences go out to Reina Tamayo Danger, Orlando’s mother,” said Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor. “Mr. Zapata Tamayo’s death is an example of the systemic abuse suffered by those who espouse freedom and human rights in Cuba today and must be condemned immediately by the international community.”

Zapata Tamayo’s death is the first time in almost four decades that a Cuban political prisoner has died by hunger strike. Pedro Luis Boitel, a youth leader and poet, died in 1972 while protesting government repression. Raul Castro repeated the Cuban government’s claim that torture does not exist in Cuba and blamed the United States for the political prisoner’s death without elaborating further. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Novak, after requesting to visit Cuba for several years was finally issued an invitation in January 2009. The visit, which was to have taken place in the fall of 2009, has never materialized. Since Zapata Tamayo’s death, the Cuban government has detained more than 20 activists seeking to express solidarity with his mother, Reina.

Death of Cuban Dissident Orlando Zapata Tamayo
Also the US State Department issued its own statement regarding this event

On Tuesday, February 23, 2010, prisoner of conscience Orlando Zapata Tamayo died following an eleven-week hunger strike. We are deeply saddened to learn of his death, and the U.S. Government extends its heartfelt sympathies to his family, friends, and supporters. Zapata was arrested in 2003 on charges of “contempt for authority.” While in Havana last week, the U.S. delegation for Migration Talks raised Zapata’s incarceration and poor health with Cuban officials and urged them to provide all necessary medical care.

Mr. Orlando Zapata Tamayo’s death highlights the injustice of Cuba’s holding more than 200 political prisoners who should now be released without delay

With a certain amount of hubris, the US House Agriculture Committee announced the introduction of new legislation toward US ffod exports to Cuba.

Chairman Peterson Introduces Legislation to Expand Agriculture Exports to Cuba

Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson of Minnesota introduced legislation to expand U.S. agriculture exports to Cuba. This bipartisan bill, H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, is co-sponsored by 30 other Members of Congress, including Representatives Jerry Moran of Kansas, Rosa L. DeLauro of Connecticut, and Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri.

“Helping feed Cuba is good for the U.S. economy and for the Cuban people. This bill increases the ability of our farmers to sell their products to Cuba just like they do with our other trading partners,” Chairman Peterson said.

“U.S. producers are the closest suppliers that can help meet the food and agriculture needs of the Cuban people. Opportunities to sell to paying customers in Cuba have been hindered by bureaucratic red tape and by arbitrary prohibitions on the ability of U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba. This bill cuts the red tape and allows that trade and travel to happen,” Chairman Peterson said.

The Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act would eliminate both the need to go through banks in other countries to conduct agricultural trades and the accompanying fees those banks charge.

The bill would also require agricultural exports to Cuba to meet the same payment requirements as exports to other countries, which means payment would be required when the title of the shipment changes hands, not in advance.

Finally, the bill would allow U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba, reducing the bureaucratic red tape currently required for individuals to travel to Cuba to facilitate new agriculture sales.