On June 5, a post was published on Babalú regarding Purdue university professor Alfredo Lopez and an accusation of alleged plagiarism made against him by Dr. Tony de la Cova concerning images contained in Mr. Lopez's book Jose Marti: A revolutionary life. However, since the publishing of the post, Mr. Lopez has contacted Babalú and vehemently denied the accusation. In addition, Mr. Lopez has provided information that disputes the allegation that he committed plagiarism.
While the Editoral Board of Babalú Blog strongly and confidently feels its post simply reported information received from a reliable source, which at best constituted pure opinion protected by the 1st Amendment, at no time did we intend to cause harm to anyone. Nevertheless, in light of the information received after the post in question's publication, we have decided it is in everyone's best interest to retract that post and any allegations of plagiarism against Mr. Alfredo Lopez that may be construed by its publication on our part. Based on the information we have received, we have found there is not sufficient evidence to substantiate the accusation of plagiarism against Mr. Lopez and therefore, the post has been removed from the blog and is no longer available.
Since 2003, Babalú has been dedicated to fighting for the freedom of the Cuban people and the truth about Cuba. Everyone who works on the blog and contributes postings to it does so on a volunteer basis. This is not a business, but a labor of love in which we all chip in from our own pockets to keep open and running on a daily basis. Our focus is solely on Cuba, its people, and achieving their freedom from the chains of tyranny and slavery. Babalú neither has the time nor the desire to involve itself in disputes between individuals, and even less so to offend the innocent. We have no interest in causing anyone harm, but only to expose the injustices and misery suffered by the Cuban people at the hands of their oppressors.
