SANTIAGO, Cuba, July 31 (UPI) -- The Cuban government is charging a Spanish political activist in the car crash death of Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya, the newspaper Granma reported Tuesday.
The Havana Times said Granma, the official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party, reported Angel Carromero Barrios had been "informed of the charge of homicide."
The Times said Cuban authorities allowed another passenger in the car, right-wing Swedish political activist Jens Aron Modig, to go home "despite the illegal activities he had already carried out in violation of his travel status."
The announcement of the charges came hours after the two survivors of the July 22 crash near Bayamo, which also claimed the life of a second dissident, Harold Cepero, spoke at a news conference about how the accident occurred and what they were doing in Cuba.
The Spanish politician asked for "the international community to focus on getting me out of here and not to use a traffic accident that could have occurred in any country for political motives."
The Times said Carromero told reporters the accident occurred when he tried to avoid a pothole and lost control of the car.
The newspaper said some dissident bloggers had initially said the car was intentionally hit by a truck.
Modig, a member of the Swedish Social Christian Party, also told reporters he and Carromero had arrived in Cuba on tourist visas, but were there to offer financial support and advice to dissidents in Santiago, the Times said.
Modig said he was unaware their activities were considered illegal, the newspaper said.
