Granma International
June 18, 2004

• Family members still being utilized in attempts to break the five Cubans

From the moment of their arrest on September 12, 1998, up until today, attempts are still being made to use the families of the five Cuban prisoners in the United States to humiliate and break them, recalled Olga Salanueva, wife of René González, when she spoke this week with a delegation from the Communist Party USA in Havana.

A group of visitors led by Sam Webb, CPUSA chairperson, met with relatives of Gerardo, Ramón, Antonio, Fernando and René to express their solidarity.

Olga explained how each of the families can cite an example of undue pressure exerted by the U.S. authorities against those Cubans, who were sentenced to jail for having infiltrated terrorist groups in Miami.

Not one of René Labañino’s family members was permitted to be in the courtroom when he was sentenced, because his wife was denied a visa until after the sentencing, “in spite of the fact that it was the hardest moment of the trial.”

Over the course of nearly six years, when Elizabeth has applied for visas for herself and her daughters, the visas have been granted first to the girls and “hers has been delayed.” Given that the two girls are minors, they cannot travel alone.

Olga explained that on their arrival in the United States, the relatives are treated like criminals. “They are separated from the other passengers, interrogated, and to top it off, on the last trip, my daughter, who had just turned 16, had to travel alone.”

In Fernando’s case, it is not certain whether Magali, his mother, and Rosi, his wife, will be able to obtain the special permission allowing them to enter the prison when they do travel.

With respect to Antonio, he was unable to complete his visits, as it was decided to was necessary to hospitalize him for an operation requested months earlier, at the moment of his mother’s visit.

Olga also pointed out that Adriana, Gerardo’s wife, has never been able to enter the United States to visit her husband.

“This is nothing more than malice and cruelty,” Olga affirmed. The U.S. authorities continue to deny her visas in spite of the fact that she lived for a number of years in the United States. For that same reason, her daughter Ivette has not been able to see her father for more than three years.

“We share your pain caused by the injustice being committed against your loved ones, and we also share your sadness,” commented Sam Webb at the end of the meeting. “We really need to have the same spirit of struggle as the five Heroes,” he said. (Jean-Guy Allard)

- Miami 5