Clemente Guillermo Gomez-Rodriguez (born January 25, 1939, in
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.[Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...](_bl ...<br></span></div>, <div class=)
) is a former defense lawyer forced out of a 22-year-long legal criminal practice career in Cuba as punishment after his release from prison Combinado del Este for trying to leave the country. He is now a Spanish-language writer in the United States.
Life and career
Gomez studied in Catholic school in Cuba (La Salle) and also school La Luz). He was arrested at age 16 in 1955 for participating in a rally against the regime of
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (born Rubén Zaldívar; January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who played a dominant role in Cuban politics from his initial rise to power as part of the 1933 Revolt of t ...
and sent to Prison Castillo del Principe. He finished high school and went on to study law at the Law School of the
University of Havana
The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...
graduated 1967. As a defense attorney, he participated in over fifteen thousand criminal cases, including as a member of the defense team on the famous case of General and former Cuban Minister of the Interior
Jose Abrantes Fernandez (Case #2-1989). Gomez also worked as Assistant Professor of Criminal Law Procedure at the Law School of the University of Havana.
Gomez speaks three languages, Spanish, English and Italian.
Gomez was arrested for trying to leave Cuba and spent two years in prison. Upon his release, he was allowed to go to the United States as a political refugee in 1994, with most of his family. He was assisted in entering the United States by his cousin's son, Alonso R. del Portillo, Assistant District Director to Congresswoman
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen ( ; ; born July 15, 1952) is an American politician and lobbyist from Miami, Florida, who represented from 1989 to 2019. By the end of her tenure, she was the most senior U.S. Representative from Florida. She was Chairwoman ...
. He was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2001. His last employment in U.S. was as public assistance specialist at the Department of Children and Families of the State of Florida. Due to ill health, he retired to dedicate the rest of his life to writing. His first book, ''Te Van A Fusilar'' (They Will Execute You), was published in 2007.
Family
Gomez lives in Miami as well as three of his children. Gomez is the son of former Cuban Army Major Clemente Ricardo Gomez-Sicre (1906–1983) and Maria del Carmen Rodriguez-Fontanills (1915–1943). He and his first wife, Gladys Brito-Izquerdo (1941- ) had three children, Dr. Maria del Carmen (1962- ), Dr. Elisa Alina (1963- ) and Clemente Romualdo Gomez-Brito (1967- ). he also had one son, Clemente Segundo Gomez-Gonzalez (1982- ). Gomez divorced (2008) from second wife. He has seven grandchildren.
Gomez' sister, Isolina Elisa (1942- ), is married to Cuban diplomat Dr.
Alfonso Fraga-Perez, and still lives in Havana, Cuba. His other sister, Guillermina (1940- ), is married to Jose Ribe-Lorenzo and lives in
Hialeah, Florida
Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in Miami-Da ...
.
Gomez is the grandson of the Brigadier General
Clemente Romualdo Gomez-Diaz, who served in the Cuban Independence War as chief of North Brigade of the Province of Matanzas. He is the nephew of
José Gómez-Sicre
José Gómez-Sicre (July 6, 1916 in Matanzas, Cuba – July 22, 1991 in Washington, D.C.) was a noted Cuban lawyer, art critic and writer.
Education
Gómez-Sicre graduated from the University of Havana in 1941 with degrees in Consular Law and Po ...
, who aside from working as a lawyer was also a noted art critic and author and Principal and founder of the Visual Arts Department at the Pan American Union in Washington, D.C. Gomez has other close relatives that has also contributed to the arts in Cuba; his great-granduncle
Antonio Rodríguez Ferrer authored the musical introductory notes to the
Cuban national anthem
"" ( ), officially known by its full title as "" ('The Bayamo Anthem'), is the national anthem of Cuba. It was first performed in 1868, during the Battle of Bayamo. Perucho Figueredo, who took part in the battle, wrote the lyrics to the anthem, ...
, while his cousin, sculptor
Juan José Sicre created the most famous sculpture of
José Martí y Pérez, located at Havana's
Plaza de la Revolución
Plaza de la Revolución (), "Revolution Square", is a municipality (or borough) and a square in Havana, Cuba.
The municipality, one of the 15 forming the city, stretches from the square down to the sea at the Malecón and includes the Vedado ...
.
References
About Gomez
* (Spanish)
*
* (Spanish)
About the Jose Abrantes Fernandez case
*
*
*
Television appearances
* ''Polos Opuestos'', June 2007, on WSBS TV (Mega TV) - One hour interview with
Maria Elvira Salazar
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
* 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
* Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
about his book, ''Te Van a Fusilar''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez-Rodriguez, Clemente G.
20th-century Cuban lawyers
Cuban emigrants to the United States
Opposition to Fidel Castro
1939 births
Living people