A White House statement said: “Villar’s senseless death highlights the ongoing
repression of the Cuban people and the plight faced by brave individuals
standing up for the universal rights of all Cubans.”
Amnesty International said it had been on the verge of designating Mr Villar a
prisoner of conscience, a status granted to people believed to be held for
no reason other than their political views.
“The Cuban government bears complete moral, political and legal responsibility
for the death of Wilmar, because he was in the custody of the authorities,”
a spokeswoman for the Cuban Committee for Human Rights and National
Reconciliation said.
Mr Villar’s funeral was held today outside of Santiago