Caracas, Sept 13 (Prensa Latina) Venezuelans have stepped up their demand for the release of five Cubans who are still held in US jails despite the reversal of their convictions by a US Appeal Court.

Coordinator of the Solidarity Committee with The Five, Orlando Rincones, told Prensa Latina that activities with this aim have been simultaneously launched in 16 Venezuelan states as part of a worldwide call for solidarity with Cuba.

He recalled that the beginning of the action coincided with the 7th anniversary of the detention of the five Cuban men who had infiltrated Miami-based extremist organizations in order to prevent terrorist acts against their country.

In Bolivar Square in this capital, hundreds of people signed letters addressed to US Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez demanding the release of The Five.

The Venezuela-Cuba Mutual Friendship/Solidarity Movement also issued a similar letter to be signed, this time addressed to UN Human Rights High Commissioner Louise Arbour.

Rincones explained that Venezuelans are also demanding the extradition of terrorist of Cuban origin Luis Posada Carriles, who remains in the US despite his thick criminal record.

During the Bolivar Square ceremony, Johnny Garcia, from the Zulia Cuba-Venezuela Friendship Committee, stressed that The Five are currently kidnapped in US jails.

He recalled they were sentenced in an unfair trial in Miami, a city controlled by extreme-right Cuban exiles.

It is incomprehensible, he said, that a month after their convictions were reversed, they are still held in prison, while the extradition of a terrorist like Posada Carriles is being denied.

"It is necessary to release these anti-terrorist fighters immediately, so that they can be in a position to prepare their defenses and have a fair trial in a non-hostile atmosphere," reads the letter addressed to the US Attorney General.