Ricardo González Alfonso

• Name — Ricardo González Alfonso • Born — 1950 • Known for — 2003-2010 imprisonment • Occupation — journalist • Awards — Reporter of the Year 2008

Ricardo González Alfonso was born in 1950. By 1995, González had begun working for Cuba Press, an independent news agency, and by 1998 had become a correspondent for Reporters Without Borders. He also published stories on everyday life in Cuba for foreign outlets. In addition to his journalism, González published a volume of poetry, Hombres sin Rostros (Men Without Faces). and worked as a scriptwriter for the state television station Televisión Cubana.

In 2003, González was arrested at his home on the first day of the national press crackdown that would later be called the Black Spring. Cuban authorities accused him of being "in the pay of the United States" and "undermining Cuba's independence and territorial integrity", and he received a twenty-year prison term. Amnesty International named him a prisoner of conscience and called for his immediate release. In 2009, he was reported to be in deteriorating health while held in an isolation cell. In a deal brokered between the Government of Cuba and the Roman Catholic Church, González and 51 other "Black Spring" political prisoners and their families were released and sent to Spain. González and 6 other released prisoners arrived in Spain on July 13, 2010. Upon his arrival in Spain, González said "This is a continuation of the fight".