Five Cuban revolutionaries are currently serving prison terms of between 15 years and a double life sentence after being framed up and convicted in June 2001 in a U.S. federal court.

The five revolutionaries were in the United States on an internationalist mission to defend the sovereignty of their country and the Cuban Revolution. They were gathering information on the activities of counterrevolutionary groups in Florida that have a history of launching violent attacks on Cuba from U.S. soil. The groups have been able to operate with impunity from Florida, often with the assistance of, training by, and funding from the U.S. government.

Unable to prove any illegal acts by the five, the federal government pushed through convictions on a series of conspiracy charges, including conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign power, to commit espionage, and to commit murder. The five are René González, Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, and Fernando González.

An international campaign is being waged by various organizations to explain the truth about the cases of the five and to demand they be released from prison. Extensive information on this fight can be found at themilitant.com.

For the next four weeks the Militant will run short biographical material on each of the five. We are starting with Gerardo Hernández who is serving two consecutive life terms plus 80 months in jail on the trumped-up conspiracy charges, including conspiracy to commit murder.
 

Gerardo Hernández was born into a working-class family, in the city of Havana on June 4, 1965. In high school he became a leader of the high school students association, and in the 11th grade he joined the Union of Young Communists. In 1989 he graduated with a degree in International Political Relations from the Superior Institute of International Relations "Raúl Roa García" of the Ministry of the Exterior.

Soon after his graduation, together with thousands of Cuban volunteers, Hernández joined the internationalist mission to Angola in which Cuban military forces played a decisive role in defeating an invasion of newly independent Angola by the South African army of the apartheid regime. He was stationed in Cabinda, an area of strategic importance because of oil wells located there, and headed a scouting platoon in a tank brigade.

In Angola, Hernández distinguished himself in 54 combat missions. After completing his tour in 1990 he was awarded medals of honor for his courageous role in combat. Three years later he was admitted into the ranks of the Cuban Communist Party after being nominated by his co-workers.

In the mid-1990s Hernández and the other four Cuban revolutionaries undertook an internationalist mission in the United States. In 1997, in his absence, he was elected as an honorary delegate to the 14th World Festival of Youth and Students, organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth and celebrated in Havana that year.

Urbano Bouza, a Cuban combatant who fought under Hernández’s command in Angola, said Hernández was politically, humanely, and psychologically prepared for the dangerous mission in the United States. "A scout must be observant, show level-headedness in the face of danger, and be discreet and courageous. I can appreciate all these qualities in Hernández," said Bouza.

Bouza described how he was initially surprised when the news about the frame-up trial first appeared in the press. But once he realized that "it was the same Hernández, just a little more bold, I felt so proud, and I began to excitedly tell people: that was my chief in Cabinda!"

Hernández is a cartoonist who has been published in the national press and presented in diverse galleries. An edited book of his work is being prepared.  
 
 
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