TAMPA, Fla. — Roberto Pizano holds up an old button-down shirt — a bright shade of coral, covered in an umbrella print.

  • Roberto Pizano one of 3,000 political prisoners released 40 years ago
  • Pizano eventually settled in Tampa
  • He received commendation for his fight for Cuban freedom
  • More Hillsborough County headlines

It serves a reminder of the storms he's weathered, and bright days he never thought he'd see. 

Fitting, then, how it ended up being the shirt he was wearing 40 years ago, when he was freed following 18 years of torture as a political prisoner in Cuba. 

"We found out in the prison the night before," Pizano said. "They took us into a room, gave us a blazer that we (took turns putting) on over our prison uniforms so we could take our passport pictures."

The next morning, he was put on a plane with hundreds of other prisoners. 

"That's a moment I'll never forget — leaving a Cuban prison and landing at the Miami airport. It’s something none of us imagined," he said. 

Pizano was one of more than 3,000 political prisoners released following negotiations between Fidel Castro and exiles living in the U.S. during the Carter presidency.

"I live with so much gratitude and I owe my life to Jimmy Carter," he said. 

Pizano eventually made his way to Tampa, where he settled down and started a family. 

"He always instilled in us the values of democracy and being grateful for what we have, that we can't forget what we have," his son Rafael Pizano said. 

However, his activism for a 'Cuba Libre' never stopped.

The outspoken activist became a well-known figure among Cuban dissidents.

He credits Cuban revolutionary Jose Martí as his inspiration.

"I can't forget, never, every day as I go to sleep, my comrades that were killed for a free Cuba," Pizano said. 

On Thursday, the 40th anniversary of his release, the Tampa City Council honored Pizano with a commendation for his fight for Cuban freedom. 

The council presented Pizano with a plaque and a Jose Martí statue. 

Though he's thankful, he says he doesn't deserve it.

"I just fought for the liberty of my homeland. That doesn't require any special recognition," he said. 

Instead, he says he will use it to honor his comrades that didn't live to see that moment 40 years ago in 1979. 

"They're the ones that deserve the honor. If anyone deserves it, it’s the ones who gave their life for our freedom," he said.