Cuban Security Ejects TV Martí Team from Panama Press Conference

Cuban security officials forced TV Martí’s reporter Karen Caballero and cameraman Rudy Hernandez out of an April 11 press conference with the Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez in Panama.

Caballero and Hernandez are fully credentialed to cover the historic summit including the meeting between President Barack Obama and President Raul Castro. Caballero is a well-recognized TV Martí host and reporter who was in place with her cameraman and sitting quietly prior to the start of the press conference. They were unceremoniously told to leave by the head of the Cuban press security. The Cuban official insisted that they could choose whom to include and wanted “unbiased, serious press that wants unity” to interview the Cuban delegation. “The fact that Karen and Rudy were forced out of the press conference is further indication of the ongoing lack of press freedom in Cuba,” said Carlos García Pérez, director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting which includes Radio and TV Martí.