They are five Cuban men who are imprisoned in the U.S. simply for defending their country, Cuba, from terrorist attacks. These five heroes never harmed anyone, yet they are in prison while the government of the U.S. is protecting and supporting the anti-Cuba extremists whom the Cuban Five tried to stop. The Five Cubans are Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and René González.
The five were convicted in a U.S. Federal court on June 8th 2001 in a politically charged. The U.S. government claimed that they were engaged in espionage on U.S. military bases and threatened “national security”. However, in the 14,000 pages of court transcript, no proof of espionage was ever produced – a fact openly admitted by the prosecution.
The five Cubans were strictly involved in monitoring the actions of terrorist right wing groups in Miami, responsible for the deaths of over 3,500 Cuban people. For over 45 years, right-wing anti- Cuban groups such as Omega 7, Brigada 2506 and Comandos F4 based in Miami have engaged in countless terrorist attacks against Cuba. These organizations were established with the financing, training, and backing of the CIA after the Cuban people ousted the hated U.S. backed Dictator Fulgencio Batista from Cuba in 1959. The sole aim of these groups is to breed terror and violence against the government and Cuba.
The government of the U.S has failed to act to stop known crimi nals who have caused death and destruction against the Cuban people. For this reason Cuba found it necessary, for self defense, to send these five men to stop further attacks. For their role in preventing 170 acts of terror against the people of Cuba, the Five were given sentences ranging from 15 years to two life sentences. Gerardo, Ramón, Antonio, Fernando and René are innocent and must be sent free. Their actions required a great deal of sacrifice and personal risk – they are heroes, not criminals.
On August 9th, 2005 after over 5 motions made by the lawyers of the Five to move the location of the trial, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals made a unanimous 73 page ruling in their favour! The 3 judge panel acknowledged a “perfect storm”of bias had been present throughout the case. They sighted the ongoing and widespread hostility within Miami against the Cuban government, and ruled for a re-trail with a change of venue. This was a huge victory for the Cuban 5 in exposing the illegitimacy of the case against them. However, the U.S. government intervened directly to demand a further review of the case. Exactly one year later, on August 9th 2006, a new 12 judge panel reversed the decision and upheld the convictions. This was unprecedented in U.S. judicial histor.
On August 20, 2007, the Cuban 5 and their lawyers brought a series of new appeals before a three judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. The appeals were based on the improper conduct of the U.S. government during the entire legal process, and their lack of evidence to sustain the two main accusations of “conspiracy to commit espionage” and “conspiracy to commit murder.
Nearly one year later, on June 5th 2008, the court re leased a decision upholding the convictions of all five men. The sentences of Ramón, Fernando, Antonio Guerrero were returned to Judge Joan Lenard’s Miami court for re-sentencing, but this is to the exact same venue and the exact same judge who brought down the original unjust sentences! Furthermore, on July 19th the U.S. government denied an entry visa to Olga Salanueva for the ninth time, this time of a permanent character, thus prohibiting her from traveling to the U.S. to visit her husband Rene. She and Adriana Perez O’Connor, wife of Gerardo Hernandez, have been denied permission by the U.S. government to visit their husbands in prison for 8 and 10 years, respectively. All other family members of the Five, including their children, continue to face similar harassment and visa denials when trying to contact their families. These five heroes, guilty only of defending their people from terrorism, have entered their 14th year of unjust imprisonment. However, they are now accompanied by a growing international movement which will not stop until they are all free. Nobel Peace Prize winners, Parliamentarians, human rights organizations, and millions of people around the world have called for their freedom. Join with us all in demanding justice for the Cuban Five!
In a major breakthrough in the case of the Cuban 5, René González has returned Cuba! On October 7, 2011 René completed his sentence and was released from U.S. prison. Following his release he was forced to remain on parole in Florida until May 3rd 2013, when a U.S. judge signed an order to allowing him to return to Cuba. René has come a long way in this heroic struggle of 14 years against the U.S. injustice system. We feel and understand this great victory. Nevertheless, we must immediately remind ourselves that we still need to go for another four victories until all of our five heroic Cuban brothers are freed.
FREE ALL THE CUBAN 5 HEROES NOW!