Cuban security forces rounded up political activists across the island to prevent protests at the funeral of a leading dissident who died after an 82-day hunger strike. The official response was disproportionate. Massive arrests, the cutting off of phone services, and an intense campaign to kill the reputation of the deceased took place in the official media. With regards to Zapata, Cuban Television News said that he had a “long criminal history” and even transmitted a hidden camera recording of his mother inside the hospital, violating every ethical principle of privacy But, despite defamation and repressive acts, they could not prevent the news from shaking all of Cuba, nor several international organizations condemning what had happened, nor the main international media reporting the death, nor Orlando Zapata Tamayo becoming a point of confluence for the democratic forces. There were days of social mourning and, at the same time, it was a small victory over the Communist Party because we managed to take away their monopoly on reporting about the life of the nation. Unlike the death of the student leader Pedro Luis Boitel, in 1972 after a hunger strike, Zapata's death was reported with sufficient immediacy to provoke extensive repulsion. Months after his sacrifice, the process of releasing the prisoners of the Black Spring began. Raúl Castro took the "unprecedented step" of expressing public regret about the death of Zapata. During his remarks, he said Zapata was treated by top doctors and denied he was tortured. Cuban state television also aired a report where doctors who treated Zapata, said they tried to get him to eat, with Dr. María Ester Hernández stating: Cuban state newspapers, meanwhile, described Zapata as a "common criminal falsely elevated to martyr status." During a plenary session of the European Parliament, MEPs condemned the cruel death of the imprisoned political dissident and voted on a join resolution calling for more respect for the human rights of the prisoner in Cuba. A large majority of MEPs backed the resolution which was tabled by all the political groups in the parliament. The U.S. State Department stated that it was "deeply saddened" by Zapata's death, while the European Union called on Cuba to release its remaining political prisoners. Spain issued a statement remembering Zapata as a "human rights defender", while France expressed "dismay" and stated that its government had been lobbying Cuba on Zapata's behalf. The incident was seen