Guillermo Fariñas went on a hunger strike four months ago to demand the release of political prisoners suffering from illnesses.

Spain’s Foreign Minister, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, expressed confidence in the success of his visit to Cuba and believes it will influence the European Union to drop its “common position” towards the island, which calls for progress on human rights and democracy before relations can be normalized.

This is Moratino’s third visit to Cuba and his agenda will focus on supporting talks between Raul Castro’s government and the Catholic Church as it relates to political prisoners. Moratinos didn’t say it to the press, but his goal is the release of at least some of the nearly 150 dissidents held by the Castro regime, an issue being discussed by Raul Castro and Cardinal Ortega since May.

An achievement such as this could bring an end to the hunger strike Guillermo Fariñas, now severely debilitated and near death, started 132 days ago to demand the release of 25 prisoners. Fariñas claims he understands he may die, in which case he says the “Castro brothers, Fidel and Raul, would be to blame”. This outcome, however, would almost certainly unleash a stream of rejection and criticism from the international community just like the one in February of this year after the death of political prisoner Orlando Zapata, 85 days after starting his own strike.

The death of yet another political prisoner would also complicate Moratinos’ efforts to convince the rest of the European Union that dialogue is the best strategy in dealing with Cuba.

The Cuban Commission for Human Rights, an illegal but tolerated group, reported that nearly 40 political prisoners are being interviewed and photographed in the jails where they are held, which could be a sign of an impending release.

Documentation confirming the new representatives to Colombia’s Congress is still up in the air in some areas of the country. In Antioquia’s case two elected Senators are still in limbo: Liberal Luis Fernando Duque and Andres Guerra, from the U Party.

For Senator-elect, Luis Fernando Duque, who lodged several complaints before the NEC over inconsistencies in the electoral process, things seem to be going well. “I’ve defended my votes and I’m confident everything will turn out ok”, he said, and positively acknowledged the work being completed by the organization.

The same cannot be said for Guerra who insists his seat in Congress was snatched from him by fraud and that recounts weren’t even done in places like La Guajira and Magdalena.

The President of the National Electoral Council, Adelina Covo, said that although there are still departments where the process hasn’t been completed, such as Magdalena, Choco and Valle del Cauca, the NEC is committed to finishing by Friday.