Cuban Five Sentences Reduced
Three members of the Cuban five have recently won a battle to have their sentences reduced: Ramon Labanino from life plus eighteen years to thirty years, Fernando Gonzalez from nineteen years to seventeen years plus nine months, and Antonio Guerrero from life plus ten years to twenty one years plus ten months. This is a victory for the international movement to free the five Cuban anti-terrorists from their political imprisonment at the hands of United States imperialism. After their resentencing the three men said they “feel profoundly moved and grateful for the permanent solidarity…so crucial in this long battle for justice.”
The five Cubans are political prisoners held in US gaols for trying to stop terrorist attacks against their country. They were working to foil the persistent attempts by right-wing counter-revolutionary groups based in Miami to commit acts of sabotage and terrorism against Cuba. Among those they attempted to expose was Luis Posada Carrilles, who has openly admitted to terrorist acts including the bombing of a Cuban aeroplane in 1976 which killed over 70 people. However when they submitted information to the US government which would have helped prevent further terrorist action they themselves were arrested on trumped-up charges, sentenced in a Miami courtroom and have been held in US gaols since, including spells in solitary confinement, while terrorists like Posada Carilles walk free on US soil.
In Cuba the five are national heroes and around the world they are symbols of anti-imperialist resistance. There are regular international protests demanding their release, in Cuba, Latin America, Britain and even the US itself. The five have continued their fight for over 11 years and resisted frequent offers from the US to sell-out and spread lies about Cuban socialism in return for their freedom. In a joint statement made by Ramon, Fernando and Antonio after having their sentences reduced they said “we did not give an inch in our principles, decorum and honour, always defending our innocence and the dignity of our Homeland” and they reiterated that “although three of our sentences were partially reduced, the injustice remains for all of us.” They also noted that “the prosecutor publicly recognised the existence of a strong international movement in support of our immediate freedom that affects the image of the US judicial system…the absolute political character of this process is confirmed.”
Both inside and outside of the corrupt US judicial system, the struggle continues. The campaign to free the five is an important part of Cuba’s ongoing revolution. In a new year’s message to his supporters Antonio Guerrero, one of the five, stated that we must “say with one voice, ENOUGH!”, that we must “think of socialism as a solution to the problems of the peoples” and as something “we have to defend and perfect daily.”
The Cuban five were falsely tried, free the Cuban five!
By Luke Lucas
Read more here: http://www.freethefive.org/whoarethefive.htm
Contact us to get involved in our work in solidarity with the Cuban revolution and against the imprisonment of the Cuban five.
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In June 2001, a Miami jury found five Cubans guilty on charges ranging from spying to conspiracy to commit murder and endangering the security of the United States. The five men had already spent three years in prison, mostly in solitary confinement. They were guilty of nothing more than peacefully trying to protect their country against terrorism. Despite international protests and legal challenges, the Cuban Five remain in jail in the US.
Gerardo Hernandez was given two life sentences plus a further 15 years. Ramon Labanino was given life, as was Antonio Guerrero. Fernando Hernandez, who had infiltrated the notorious 'Brothers to the Rescue' organisation and posed as an anti-Cuban agent, was given 19 years imprisonment and Rene Gonzalez 15 years. These men had been working to foil the persistent attempts by right-wing counter-revolutionary groups in the United States to commit acts of sabotage and terrorism against Cuba. Among those they attempted to expose was Posada Carrilles, wanted for the destruction of a Cuban airliner in 1976 when over 70 people were killed. Carilles is wanted in Venezuela for this terrorist act but the US government refuses to extradite him.
During his trial Rene Gonzalez gave a defiant speech from the dock: 'The whole issue of Cuban agents has a very simple solution: Leave Cuba alone. Respect the sovereignty of the Cuban people. We have better things to do, all of them a lot more constructive than watching the criminals who freely walk the streets of Miami'. While Ramon Labanino said, 'From this forum I denounce the law enforcement agencies of the United States that have concealed and failed to take action against terrorism and terrorists. If preventing the deaths of innocent human beings and preventing a senseless invasion of Cuba are the reasons I am being sentenced today, then I welcome that sentence. This has been a political trial and therefore we are political prisoners. It is a history that will do us true justice!'
The Five have since spent months in solitary confinement, while their families are denied visas to visit them. On 9th August 2005 the 5 won a victory when the Federal Appeals Court in Atlanta unanimously overturned their convictions and ordered a retrial. The Court found that the original trial was not fair due to the prejudices of sections of the local community in Miami (the home of the violently anti-communist Miami mafia) and the hostile publicity surrounding the case. Judge Birch said that the original Miami trial was "a perfect storm of prejudice" and that a new trial was necessary.
With their sentences overturned, the Cuban Five should have been released but, months later they remained inside. The 11th Court of Appeals of Atlanta reversed the decision to order a re-trial. Ricardo Alarcon, President of Cuba's National Assembly, remarked that the present Judge Wilson (from Miami) must "feel very satisfied at this moment" because "he knows that he would be the last person targeted for a bomb attack in Miami." In other words he deliberately played into the hands of the counter-revolutionary mafia by keeping the five Cubans in jail.
In June 2008 the Cuban 5’s latest court appeal was rejected, although some of the sentences were rejected as being too harsh, and have been returned for re-sentencing, Amazingly, the re-sentencing will be presided over by the same judge who handed down the unjust sentences in the first place. RATB took part in worldwide protests to condemn the court decision.
link to http://www.freethefive.org/updates/Comuniques/COAppealsDemos060508.htm
As the Cuban 5 enter their eleventh year of unjust imprisonment, the right-wing terrorist Orlando Bosch is enjoying a pardon granted by the US. This is a man who admits bombing a Cuban passenger plane in October 1976, as well as attempting to assassinate Cuba's elected leader Fidel Castro. Luis Posada Cariles, wanted in Cuba and Venezuela for involvement in these reactionary plots, remains under US protection. So, while locking up the Cuban Five and the hundreds in the Guantanamo concentration camp, the US allows real terrorists to go free.
The struggle of the Cuban 5 is our struggle. Our solidarity is necessary if they are to be released.
- Letters from the Cuban 5 to RATB
Rock around the Blockade has been proud to receive the following postcards and letters from the Cuban Five.
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September 8 2008
Dear Friends,
Thanks for your birthday greetings and your solidarity as expressed through your words of support.
Once again we have been denied justice by the court of appeals. It refused to review the unjust and politically prejudiced ruling of June 4th made by a three judge panel. Our attorneys work hard these days to get our petition to the supreme court ready.
September 12th marks the 10th anniversary of our unjust imprsionment. The movement in solidarity with the Cuban Five holds numerous events around the date. It is a good opportunity to call attention to the reality of our case and the injustice involved in it.
Aware of the hard work and the efforts contributed by so many good friends, especially for this particular occasion, I want to express my gratitude and my appreciation to you, as well as my certitude in the triumph of truth and justice.
Venceremos!
Fernando
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External link
Website of the Free the Five campaign in the US, which coordinates international protest for the Five
www.freethefive.org
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