Noted Cuban dissident drowns while trying to sneak back to island from US aboard speedboat

Dissident drowns trying to sneak back into Cuba

MIAMI — A noted Cuban opposition activist has died after drowning while trying to return to his homeland.

That’s according to fellow dissidents, who say Adrian Leiva left Florida on a boat in March. He wanted to return to Cuba to continue his work as a political activist and to be with his mother.

Miguel Saludes, a longtime friend, says Leiva’s family was told by Cuban authorities that he drowned while swimming to the coast.

His body was positively identified this week.

Leiva had worked as an independent journalist in Cuba and was involved in the Varela Project, which sought a referendum on civil rights and electoral reforms.

Saludes says Leiva had been denied permission to enter Cuba in 2009.

Leiva’s death was first reported in The Miami Herald.