Cuban dissident Antunez arrested

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WASHINGTON, June 11 (UPI) -- Cuban activists say a political dissident was arrested by the Castro regime in retaliation for his recent testimony before a U.S. congressional committee.

Luis Garcia Perez Antunez was picked up Saturday and given a rough reception while in custody, and has not been heard from since, said Capitol Hill Cubans, a Web site maintained by Cuban exiles in the United States.

Antunez was one of three Cuban dissidents who testified by video before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about political repression in Cuba. The hearing was called by Senate Republicans who oppose Obama administration plans to loosen decades-long restrictions on travel to the communist island nation.

The Hill said Antunez's arrest was used by anti-Castro activists to scold the White House for its policy changes. "This serves as a stark reminder of what happens to Cuban activists who dare speak the truth," said a statement on Capitol Hill Cubans. "Maybe it'll give some pause to those who applaud the Castro regime's apparatchiks when they travel to the U.S. on propaganda tours [thanks to the State Department's generous new visa policy]."