Miguel Álvarez Sánchez, former advisor to Ricardo Alarcón, dies of cancer

November 4, 2020

On Monday, November 2, Miguel Álvarez Sánchez died as a result of cancer. For nearly two decades, he served as personal secretary and advisor to the former president of Parliament in Cuba, Ricardo Alarcón.

Álvarez Sánchez, who suffered from terminal cancer and was serving a 30-year prison sentence in a Cuban jail, had been released just a few weeks ago after the Government granted him an extrajudicial leave due to his illness. He was accused of espionage along with his wife, Mercedes Arces, both high-ranking members of Cuban Intelligence.

The news of his death was announced on Facebook by Cuban singer-songwriter Frank Delgado, who is close to the family.

"Safe travels my dear young dad. RIP Miguel Álvarez," wrote the Cuban musician, accompanying his message with several photos and a warm message for family members.

Álvarez Sánchez's three children traveled to Cuba from Mexico at the end of last month to be able to say goodbye to their father in person.

Álvarez Sánchez, who was serving a 30-year sentence, was accused of espionage for the CIA in 2013. He served his sentence at Guanajay prison and before receiving extrajudicial leave, he spent his last months in the Sentenced Patients Ward of the National Hospital due to the worsening of his illness.

"The trial was secret, in a military court, so that no one could question it, because in a process where no evidence whatsoever was presented regarding the guilt of the accused, the sentence was 30 years for my father and 15 years for his wife, mother of my siblings and also a mother to me. They not only have never acknowledged nor accepted any of the accusations made against them, but we have been appealing the entire time as Cuban law allows," said Noel Álvarez, one of the deceased's sons, a few months ago.

Álvarez Sánchez, one of the most influential men in Cuba in the 1990s, was also accused of passing secret information to his wife, which was allegedly used to write analytical reports about Cuba that he would have sold to private companies in Mexico.

Miguel Álvarez's three children—Noel, Mauricio, and Maylen—live in Mexico, and at the end of October they traveled to Havana to say goodbye to their father.

Miguel Álvarez Sánchez—former Cuban intelligence officer—was arrested in March 2012 along with his wife, Mercedes Arce, also an intelligence agent, and both were sentenced in December 2013 to 30 and 15 years in prison, respectively.

According to Cuban courts, Miguel Álvarez, who until his arrest was a recognized analyst on U.S. politics and frequently consulted by state television, was passing secret information to his wife, who subsequently sold it to private companies in Mexico. The official press never disclosed anything during the criminal proceedings against the couple.