Vol. 73/No. 6      February 16, 2009

Antonio Guerrero, Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, and René González have been incarcerated for more than a decade. Falsely charged with “conspiracy” to commit espionage, they were in Miami to collect information for Havana about right-wing groups carrying out violent attacks against the Cuban people with Washington’s complicity. They were arrested and jailed in September 1998 and have since been subjected to brutal treatment in an attempt to break them. They remain on the front line of the struggles of working people against capitalist exploitation.

Everything from the 17 months spent in solitary confinement before their trial, to the denial of visas to the wives of two of them for visits are examples of the brutal treatment that many working people in the United States face in jail today.

The repeated FBI break-ins and theft of personal belongings, wiretapping of phone conversations, use of evidence that was kept secret from the defense during the trial, use of conspiracy charges, and refusal to move the trial to a new venue all illustrate the broad attack on workers’ rights this frame-up trial represents. With one in 99 adults in the United States behind bars, their case rings familiar to thousands who face similar circumstances in the U.S. “justice” system.

This case is also an example of Washington’s 50-year-long attempt to punish the Cuban people for taking political power and defending their interests against imperialist domination and capitalist exploitation. The five are exemplary revolutionaries who refuse to be broken by Washington’s dictates.

As Richard Klugh, the attorney for Fernando González, recently pointed out, this case is not just about the five, but affects everyone’s right to a fair trial. The U.S. rulers are accelerating their assault on workers’ rights as their crisis gets deeper. They use laws like the Patriot Act of 2001 and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 to keep working people in line as they try to solve their crisis off our backs.

The concert in New York and demonstration in Washington, D.C., last September, along with letters from two major U.S. unions, are a few examples of how we can spread the word about their fight and win their freedom. Free the Cuban Five!
 
 
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Attorneys for jailed Cuban 5 file Supreme Court appeal  
 
 
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