CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Cuban Five: Message to the US People

CUBA, June 16, 2010.  The official Granma daily published an article entitled “Heroic Conduct in the Entrails of the Monster”, on June 20th of 2001 announcing the crime committed against the five Cuban political prisoners incarcerated in the US for fighting terrorism.

After characterizing as fraudulent and cynical the judicial process against Gerardo Hernandez, Rene Gonzalez, Ramon Labañino, Fernando Gonzalez and Antonio Guerrero; the daily reproduced the courageous message of these five men to the people of the Untied States, drafted on June 17th.

Through this text, “the Five”, detained on September 12th, 1998, offered the truth of the arbitration of which they were victims of and explained for the first time the reasons of their presence and intentions in the US.

“…we reaffirm the profound convictions that with our attitude and actions we did not transgress or put in danger the security of the people of the United States and in some ways contributed in discovering terrorist plans and actions against our country”.

“…the accused in this case do not regret what was carried out to defend our nation.   We declare ourselves totally innocent”.

Since then, Cuba began a colossal battle for the release of these five men, sentenced in Miami in December of 2001, during a biased trial, disproportionally and unjust sentences that total 4 life terms plus 77 years in prison all together.

With such ruling, the court presided by a federal judge among many irregularities, did not know the motive in the justification called in criminal law “state of need”, as the accused infiltrated extreme right wing organizations only to stop terrorist plans against the Cuban people.

Since the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, Cuba has been a victim of some 6 000 terrorist actions, with multiple consequences, organized by the extreme right wing in Miami with the support of successive US administrations.

Even when Ramon, Fernando and Antonio had their a resentencing of their prison terms in 2009 after several appeals and the pressure of international solidarity organizations, the Cuban Five are serving unjust sentences in different US prisons.  They are even denied visits by members of their family, while assassins and servers of the CIA continue unpunished.

That message to the US people marked the steps in the universal path of the truth, in which hundreds of solidarity committees for the release of the Cuban Five were created around the world including several US cities, among them, New York, Los Angeles and even Miami.

No one has been able to destroy the integrity of these five men, even with cruel psychological pressures.  The people in the US must learn of the distortions and lies on the case and their fight against terrorism.  (Cubaminrex- ACN)