Vol. 72/No. 38      September 29, 2008

Militant/Paul Mailhot

More than 100 people marched in Washington, D.C., September 13 to demand the release of the Cuban Five—framed-up and jailed in U.S. prisons for more than 10 years.

Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, René González, and Antonio Guerrero have been imprisoned for 10 years on charges of “conspiracy to commit espionage” and in one case, “conspiracy to commit murder.” They were arrested in south Florida in 1998 where they were monitoring the activities of right-wing Cuban groups that have attacked Cuba with Washington’s backing.

“It is very important that this march took place here in D.C.,” Weinglass said, “because this is where the next stage of the legal fight to free the five will take place—in the Supreme Court.” He stressed the importance of putting maximum pressure on the court’s justices to hear the five’s appeal.

At the heart of the Cuban Five appeal to the Supreme Court, Weinglass said, is the fact that the defendants were unable to receive a fair trial in Miami. In 2005, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the convictions of the five and ordered a new trial because of the atmosphere of intimidation created by the actions of right-wing Cuban groups in that city. That ruling was subsequently overturned by the full 12-judge court.

Weinglass pointed out that the issue of venue is key to the right to a fair trial, noting that it is a major question in many death penalty cases. He said the Cuban Five defense is reaching out to organizations like the NAACP and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, urging them to file friend-of-the-court briefs in support of the Cuban Five appeal.

Gloria La Riva, coordinator of the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five, was another featured speaker at the meeting, which was held at the Service Employees International Union building. La Riva said that a campaign of street actions, legal defense, and publicity—especially reaching out to youth—is needed to win the five’s release.

José Bolaños, head of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, also addressed the Cuban Five meeting and thanked participants for their continued support. He explained that despite devastating damages to much of Cuba caused by two major hurricanes in less than two weeks Cubans will rebuild and the revolution will continue to go forward. The Cuban government immediately extended aid to Haiti, which suffered significant damage and a much greater loss of life than Cuba did during the hurricanes, he added.

Benjamin Ramos of the Popular Education Project to Free the Cuban Five read a letter from the Cuban Five. Lucius Walker, leader of IFCO/Pastors for Peace, spoke, urging material aid for Cuba as its people work to recover from hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

Earlier that day, demonstrators assembled at Malcolm X Park. Banbose Shango of the D.C. Metro Committee to Free the Five and Ignacio Meneses of the National Network on Cuba introduced speakers from the D.C. chapter of the Salvadoran Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, Socialist Workers Party, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Green Party, Pastors for Peace, and Cuba Solidarity New York, among others.

Waving colorful banners and placards with pictures of the five, the demonstrators then marched through the streets here, chanting, “Free, free, free the five!” and passing out fliers on the case to bystanders along the route.

Participants in the march and meeting came from Washington, New York, Philadelphia, and New Jersey, along with others from cities as far away as Atlanta, Detroit, and Miami.
 

In Miami 75 people attended a meeting September 14 in defense of the Cuban Five. Andrés Gómez, director of the Antonio Maceo Brigade, and Max Lesnick, a leader of Alianza Martiana, were the featured speakers.

“The fight for the freedom of the five is not just about the five,” Lesnick said. “It’s about the millions.” The meeting announced a car caravan protest against U.S. restrictions on travel to Cuba September 20.

Some 20 supporters of the five held an event in a busy shopping district in Boston September 12. They displayed signs saying, “Free the Cuban Five”; “10 years of injustice is too much”; and “Real hurricane relief for Cuba—End the embargo now!”

That same day activists in Seoul, South Korea, held a September 12 rally to back the Cuban Five. They delivered a letter to the U.S. embassy demanding freedom for the five and an end to U.S. government support for right-wing Cuban groups.

Bernie Senter in Miami and Laura Garza in Boston contributed to this article.
 
 
Related articles:
Events demand freedom for framed-up Cuban Five: Concert in N.Y. draws new forces into fight
Cuban 5 ‘deserve working people’s support’  
 
 
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