From the Federal Penitentiary in Victorville, where he is currently serving two life sentences, Gerardo Hernandez is sending a joyous message of gratitude to the supporters of the campaign to free the Five: “It is the solidarity of the people which has made this victory possible.” Commenting on the Aug. 9 decision by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to revoke the sentences and to order a new trial, Hernandez, one of the Cuban Five, expresses his belief that the victory is certain.
On Mar. 9, the five Cubans – Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, René González, and Fernando González – unjustly imprisoned in various federal prisons across the United States on charges of terrorism and espionage, challenged the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva to break the wall of silence that surrounds their case.
On March 10, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Miami will hold a hearing on the case of the five Cuban nationals imprisoned in the U.S. on charges of conspiracy to commit espionage. In truth, the five were working to thwart efforts of anti-Cuba terrorists. The attorneys for Ramon Labanino, Gerardo Hernandez, Rene Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero and Fernando Gonzalez will have only three minutes for each of the defendants to present the 24 aspects of the appeal, which will be heard by a panel of three judges.
On July 26, 2003, the Cuban people commemorated the 50th anniversary of the attack on the Moncada garrison in the city of Santiago de Cuba. This historic event marked the birth of the ‘26th of July Movement’ as well as the beginning of the last, insurrectional phase in the struggle to overthrow the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.
San Francisco, CA – The Miami Five are five Cuban nationals – Fernando González, Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino and René González. On June 8, 2001, they were convicted by the Federal District Court in Miami on charges ranging from espionage, to failure to register as agents of a foreign government, to conspiracy to commit murder.
Bloomington, MN – Youth Against War and Racism (YAWR) activists were disciplined here Jan. 10 for educating their fellow students at Thomas Jefferson High School. They distributed literature and did guerilla theater to advertise for the Jan. 11 international day of protest to shut down the U.S. prison for ‘terror suspects’ at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The student activists decided to mobilize for the Minneapolis demonstration and to table at their high school the day before the protest to increase awareness about the torture, abuse and lack of due process for detainees at Guantanamo.
