Hugo Rius Blein, José Martí National Prize for Journalism 2008 for his life’s work, passed away on this day. A contributor to Cubadebate and a journalist for the Prensa Latina agency, he also served as an adjunct professor at the Faculty of Communication at the University of Havana.

He began his professional work in 1962 at the Prensa Latina agency. He was a correspondent for this agency in various countries in Africa and the Middle East.

He was the author in Cubadebate of the column La Coletilla, a brief comment on the sidelines of what is news in the world.

He worked for several years at Bohemia magazine and was a correspondent for Prensa Latina before the United Nations.