The recent death in Cuba of 31-year-old Wilman Villar Mendoza - who was on a hunger strike as a protest for having been sentenced to four years in prison - is a severe indictment of the Cuban regime and of its avowed respect for human rights. Villar Mendoza’s death follows that of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, another Cuban dissident, who died in 2009 following an 80-day hunger strike.

Villar was arrested last November for disrespecting authority and resisting arrest. He protested the sentence going on a hunger strike. His wife, Maritza Pellegrino, said that initially Cuba’s state security hadn’t allowed her to see the body of her husband. Villar’s death was mourned by all freedom loving Cubans. Berta Soler, a spokeswoman for the Ladies in White stated, “We lost a young man of 31-years because the Cuban government is not interested in the lives of its citizens or those men who protest inhumane conditions.”

Villar’s death shows that, in spite of freeing several political prisoners as a result of an agreement brokered by the Catholic Church and the Spanish government, the Cuban government is not willing to allow new and peaceful protests against the regime.

I became aware of the omnipresent pressure of the Cuban state during my first trip to Cuba in 1982, to attend a health-related meeting. As I walked with a friend into Bodeguita del Medio – a traditional restaurant known by the number of famous visitors who had dined there over the years (Hemingway was a frequent patron) – a young Cuban man was discreetly asked to leave.

When the man saw us and realized that we weren’t Cubans, he began ranting against the government restrictions on Cubans. “I have money to spend here,” he told us. “But they prefer that foreigners eat and spend their money here. I am just fed up with this regime.”

He then asked us, “Do you see something in that corner?” “Yes,” we said. “there is a man standing there.” “You are wrong,” he said. “He is not a man. That’s a gigantic ear listening to everything I say to you. But I don’t care any longer. I am sick and tired of this situation.”

Instantly, I got a first-hand sense of the problem besieging Cuban society: the need for foreign money, the oppressive nature of the regime and the dissatisfaction of the country’s youth. These impressions were later confirmed during other visits to the island. Highlighting those shortcomings, though, is in no way to deny the Cuban government’s achievements, particularly in health and education.

Cuba, for all its faults and drawbacks, is in the forefront of both fields when compared not only to other Latin American countries but also to the United States. This progress, however, has been hindered by an unnecessary and ineffective embargo that has exacted a tremendous cost not only to Cuba but also to the U.S.

Paradoxically, the Castro regime remains in power and is allowed to abuse its citizens precisely by an embargo that most Cubans feel is an attack on their country’s sovereignty. The limited isolation provoked by the embargo enables the regime to act with total impunity in the abuse of dissident Cubans.

Although political pressure from the powerful Cuban exile community in Florida has been a key factor in maintaining the embargo, the descendants of that immigrant generation have a more nuanced view of the Cuban regime. They have seen the damage caused by decades of antagonism between both countries – and are eager for better relations between them.

President Barack Obama has eased some restrictions on travel to the island by Cubans and their descendants. However, scientists, doctors, artists and ordinary citizens from both countries still face constraints. Easing those restrictions could have a dramatic effect in neutralizing the atmosphere of antagonism and should lead to a lifting of the embargo and the normalization of relations between both countries.

An important condition for lifting the embargo, however, should be the release of all political prisoners in Cuba and an agreement with the Cuban government to open to the free exchange of ideas both inside and outside the country. No government should be allowed to let its own citizens die of hunger because they are protesting their arbitrary detention.

Dr. Cesar Chelala is a co-winner of an Overseas Press Club of America award.

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