Declaration of the Editorial Board of “Revista de America”

End This Injustice
Free the Five Cubans Imprisoned in the USA

Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, Gerardo Hernández, and René González are five Cubans who have been unjustly imprisoned in the USA for ten years [as of Sept. 12, 2008].* Their only crime was that they were working to counter the vigilante terrorism engaged in by violent groups among so-called “Cuban exiles” in the Miami area, groups that have committed a great many crimes against revolutionary Cuba.

The U.S. government and judicial system, falsely and unjustly, and in contradiction to the so-called War on Terrorism, accused the Five of “spying,” when in reality they had done nothing against the internal security of the United States, as was amply demonstrated by testimony and evidence during a lengthy trial [in Miami in 2001.]

The double standard of morality applied by the George W. Bush administration with regard to the question of “terrorism” has been clearly revealed. While keeping these five Cuban heroes imprisoned, it allowed the dangerous terrorist Luis Posada Carriles to enter and live in Florida with impunity. In the past Posada Carriles was tried and convicted of responsibility for the planting of a bomb on a Cuban airliner in 1976, causing the deaths of dozens of innocent civilians. In addition, he is guilty of such other reprehensible (deleznables) crimes as the plot to plant a bomb at the University of Panama, which would have killed hundreds of people gathered for a reception of Cuban President Fidel Castro in the year 2000.

The convicted and self-confessed terrorist Posada Carriles, after escaping from prisons in both Venezuela and Panama, now lives freely in the United States under the protection of its authorities. Meanwhile, the Cuban Five are not only still held in prison unjustly but also their detention continues under inhuman conditions. They are held in solitary confinement and enormous obstacles are placed in the way of visits to them by their spouses and other members of their immediate families.

We must also mention the numerous irregularities committed during their trial, in which the Five were denied the right to be released on bail, they were held in punishment cells, and official obstruction prevented the effective functioning of their defense attorneys and the presentation of evidence in their favor. Last of all, a completely biased jury was selected to hear their case and that jury was kept under pressure and threats from the extremist Cuban exiles of Miami.

On top of all that, on September 2, 2008, the Court of Appeals in Atlanta denied the requests for a reconsideration of the case presented by the defense attorneys. This means that the U.S. courts have ratified the false verdict that found the Five guilty of “spying.” They have confirmed the sentences against Gerardo (two consecutive sentences of more than 15 years) and against René (15 years), and Judge Joan Lenard of the Miami Court is now authorized to begin the process of dictating new sentences against Ramón, Antonio, and Fernando.

For all the above reasons, the supporters of Revista de América add their voice to those of the thousands of individuals, human rights organizations, civic groups, labor unions, and grassroots organizations that are calling on the U.S. government and its judicial agencies to immediately free the Five Cuban patriots.

TEN YEARS OF INJUSTICE IS ENOUGH!

FREEDOM NOW FOR THE FIVE CUBAN HEROES!

September 2008

*Editors’ Note: The Five were arrested by U.S. authorities on Sept. 12, 1998.