111 Political Prisoners From Cuba Reach U.S.

Throngs of relatives greeted 111 newly freed Cuban political prisoners and their families, some seeing each other for the first time since the beginning of Fidel Castro’s regime nearly 28 years ago, when their plane arrived here today on the freedom flight that followed two years of negotiations.

The new refugees, among them the nephew of a former president, made up one of the largest single groups of Cubans to arrive in the United States in years. Many seemed on the verge of tears as they went through the Miami International Airport terminal.

“I can say I’m in my country,” said Rene Gonzalez Herrera, an elderly man in a wheelchair, after getting off the chartered plane. “I feel very happy after 28 years in prison.”

Domingo Suarez Espinosa, whose 28-year imprisonment in a Havana prison ended just hours before the flight left Cuba, said it is hard to express the joy of being in the United States. He recalled sending his wife and two children away after Castro took over the island.

“I preferred never seeing them again rather than seeing them subjected to such a horrible system,” he said.

Immigration officials had expected 117 people, 71 former or current prisoners, and the rest relatives, to arrive.

But one prisoner, Jose Gomez Blanco, died today in Havana and his wife elected to stay behind, said George Waldroup, a spokesman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service here.

“At least he didn’t die in jail,” said Maty Olaechea, a sister waiting in Miami.

Another person was kept behind because he was of military age; two people were inadvertently listed twice, and one name was an erroneous entry, Waldroup said.

Among those in the group was Ramon Pedro Grau Alsina, nephew of former Cuban President Ramon Grau San Martin, who led Cuba as the head of a five-man committee from 1933 to 1934 and served as the elected president from 1944 to 1948.

Alsina was reunited with his wife and children whom he hadn’t seen in 21 years.

Permission for the emigres to leave Cuba came after two years of negotiations among the Cuban government, the White House and the Roman Catholic Church.

The Reagan Administration had long refused to take more Cuban refugees because Castro has refused to take back criminals who immigrated to Miami during the 1980 Mariel boatlift.

But three weeks ago, President Reagan announced that all Cuban political prisoners jailed more than 10 years could seek entrance to the United States.