Buenos Aires/Havana - The Cuban government allowed Cuban dissident Hilda Molina to travel to Argentina, where her family lives, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said Friday in Buenos Aires.

Molina, a doctor and a former legislator, has been given a passport and a travel permit by Cuban authorities, Fernandez de Kirchner told reporters. She also received the necessary visa from the Argentine Embassy in Havana.

Molina had been waiting for years to travel to Argentina, to visit her son, Roberto Quinones, and her grandchildren. Her own mother, Hilda Morejon, was also allowed to travel last year, after a 14-year wait.

Fernandez de Kirchner regarded the end of travel restrictions on Molina as "very good news," and she thanked Cuban President Raul Castro for an "important gesture."

Molina, who founded the International Centre for Neurological Restoration (Ciren), resigned her positions and left the Cuban Communist Party in 1994. She argued that she had "political and ethical differences" with the Cuban government, then led by historic leader Fidel Castro.

Since then, the neurosurgeon had been requesting authorization to visit her son in Argentina.(dpa)