QCOSTARICA – In an article this week by the Tico Times, David Strecker, better known as “Cuba Dave”, told his story from inside the walls of La Reforma prison in Alajuela.
Strecker was transferred to the La Reforma on February 10, after spending several months in San Jose’s notorious San Sebastian jail, after being arrested on September 4, 2015 at the Juan Santamaria (San Jose) airport for allegedly promoting Costa Rica as a “sex tourism” destination.
Strecker is being held on “preventive detention” (remand) while waiting for trial, a trial that has, almost seven months following his arrest, no set date.
“This is a country where if you happen to say the wrong thing, you’re going to end up paying for it,” Strecker told Michael Krumholtz of the Tico Times in a recent interview . “Truthfully, I really believe I’m just being made an example of.”
During the interview Strecker called himself a “political prisoner” and claimed he is being discriminated against for being an American.
Strecker says he didn’t make prostitution legal, “it’s here. These people created this,” he is quoted in the Tico Times.
According to Strecker, as “Cuba Dave” he was a face for the recognizable brand that updated followers on Strecker’s apparent conquests in Costa Rica and other Latin American countries,” and that others created the website and Facebook pages. However, the others responded to the Tico Times report, saying that was not the case. Click here to read the Tico Times report.
“Every single thing I’m being charged with is legal,” he said. “They should actually be patting me on the back for warning some of the guys about this stuff,” Strecker is quoted in the Tico Times.
According to the Cuba Dave website, now being kept up on behalf of Strecker and focusing on raising awareness and funds for his legal defense, prosecutors continue to ask the courts to detain him despite failing to produce any meaningful evidence of a crime. “Although Dave will continue to receive hearings, his attorney is now convinced that he will be held for a year or more before a possible trial,” says the website.
The transfer to La Reforma’s facility for elderly prisoners means Strecker no longer has to suffer the rampant overcrowding at the San Sebastian, has access to outside, better food and is allowed to receive longer duration phone calls. The website says Dave feels more secure, “as most of the inmates who remain at the prison are there voluntarily, having completed their long prison sentences, but being elderly and lacking a pension or family to care for them.”
Strecker told the Tico Times that he plans to write a book and produce a video about his experience what has happened since his arrest and if freed, he’ll go directly to the airport.
