Sick Mom of Former Miami Teacher Jailed in Cuba Pleads for Daughter's Return to the US

Alina López Miyares Alina Miyares Cuban Government COVID Pandemic conditional freedom

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Sep 04, 12:20 am

Photo: (Photo : EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP via Getty Images)

A former Miami teacher who was jailed for five years in Cuba on espionage charges has not been allowed to return to the United States even though she was released back in July, according to the Miami Herald.

According to Jason Poblete, her U.S. attorney, the Cuban government gave Alina López Miyares conditional freedom, meaning the Cuban American cannot leave the island for now.

Her mom, also named Alina Miyares, who turns 95 this coming November, is receiving hospice care at her Miami Beach apartment after spending years advocating for the release of her daughter.

Miyares looks to reunite with her daughter

Until the COVID pandemic began, Miyares would make monthly trips to Cuba to visit her daughter in prison, carrying medicine and food for her child. She was at the helm of her daughter's case in Cuba, often speaking with the media and her attorney.

López Miyares' mom is frail and is now in a hospital bed at her apartment. She still managed to say a few words to NBC News, telling the media outlet to help her daughter as she has been in Cuba for a long time. She said in an interview back in 2021 that the pain that a mother feels does not compare with anything.

López Miyares' brother, Gene López, moved in with his mom to care for her, while her 34-year-old son, Michael Peralta, moved from Los Angeles to Miami to be closer to his grandma. Peralta is in touch with his mom in Cuba. She has not expressed happiness over her conditional release because she is dying to be reunited with her ailing mother.

López Miyares sentenced to prison in 2017

Peralta said his mother spends her days at church and with family. He regularly sends his mom money to pay for her rent and food. López Miyares' life changed in 2017 when she was sentenced to 13 years in prison by a military court, according to Global Liberty Alliance.

Her family has always maintained, however, that she is innocent. Her husband, Felix Martín Milanés Fajardo, was sentenced to 17 years in prison. He is a former Cuban official assigned to the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations.

López Miyares was accused of serving as a link between her husband and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The court in Cuba alleged that she was channeling information in exchange for political asylum for her husband and his relatives.

Poblete, who represents Americans held overseas, said they are hopeful that the recent release of Alina López Miyares will lead shortly to her return to be with her mother in Miami. She was born in Cuba and became a naturalized U.S. citizen after she fled the island with her family when she was nine.