The Cuban Five, as they are known, are González, Labañino, Gerardo Hernández, Fernando González, and Antonio Guerrero. They have been in prison for eight years. They were arrested in 1998 and convicted three years later on frame-up charges brought by the U.S. government, which included conspiracy to commit espionage, conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent, and, in the case of Hernández, conspiracy to commit murder.
In order to defend Cubas sovereignty, the five had entered Cuban-American groups in the United States with a record of carrying out violent attacks on Cuba from U.S. soil with Washingtons complicity. They had also served on other internationalist missions in the past. Three of the five had been Cuban volunteer combatants in Angola who helped the Angolan army defeat invasions of the country by the South Africa apartheid forces and defend the countrys newly won independence from Portuguese colonial rule.
Irma González, a 22-year old university student, said that at the time of their arrest the five men were described in the media as spies of Castro but at the trial Washington presented no evidence to substantiate the charge. Thats why the charges were framed as conspiracy to commit espionage.
González described how her father is teaching fellow inmates to read and write in prison. She said that at one time when Gerardo Hernándezs cell mate was replaced, the prisoners talked to his new partner and told him, The man in that cell is a great man. He helps us, he studies, dont bother him.
Responding to a question about whether there could be a shift in U.S. foreign policy if the Democrats win a majority in Congress in the U.S. elections November 7, Palmeiro answered, I dont expect any change in their aggressiveness and hostility. She told the audience that because of a change in procedures she will not be able to see her husband again until May 2008. The last time she saw him was in June.
At a similar meeting of 75 people held October 31 in Windsor, Ontario, Palmeiro said, We are here because we need to mobilize public opinion in Canada and the United States against this injustice.
Tour stops have also included Montreal; Ottawa and Hamilton, Ontario; and Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. In addition to the public events, González and Palmeiro are meeting with members of parliament, unionists, and others, and are giving media interviews.
Bea Bryant in Blenheim, Ontario, contributed to this article.
Related articles:
U.S. gov't measures restrict study programs in Cuba
Asian American student conference discusses fights against discrimination
'Our every action a battle cry against imperialism'
The 1966-68 revolutionary campaign in Bolivia led by Ernesto Che Guevara
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