Vol. 77/No. 34      September 30, 2013

They refused to plea bargain. They proudly acknowledge their assignment from the Cuban government to defend their homeland and revolution. They won’t cave-in to efforts by the U.S. government and prison authorities to break their spirit. They carry out political work among fellow workers behind bars and have a record as selfless revolutionary working-class fighters. Three of them took part in Cuba’s internationalist combat mission in Angola to repel invasions by the white-supremacist regime of apartheid South Africa. All this speaks volumes about the type of individuals the Five are, why the U.S. capitalist rulers hate and fear the Cuban Revolution, and why working people everywhere should support the international campaign to free them.

When working people learn about the Five, the facts of the frame-up and the conditions of their imprisonment, many identify with their struggle. Millions have had a bitter taste of U.S. capitalist “justice” or know someone close to them who has. Prisoners in California recently concluded a hunger strike against solitary confinement and other inhumane conditions, experiences the Five share and have also fought against. Confronting high unemployment and the bosses’ drive to make millions of workers pay for the crisis of capitalism, more and more working people are beginning to look for ways to stand up. As this resistance grows within the U.S., we will find the “jury of millions” that can win their freedom.

The 15 new watercolors by Antonio, “I will die the way I lived,” which depict the first 17 months they spent in the Miami Federal Detention Center leading up to their trial, are a powerful new tool that can be used to win new supporters to this fight.

The paintings, and the stories that go with them, show the brutality of the prison system, as well as the discipline, integrity, courage and creative spirit with which the Five have resisted. They highlight the kind of exemplary human beings who have been forged in the Cuban Revolution, the caliber of working-class fighters needed to build workers parties in the U.S. and around the world.

We have an important weapon in this fight: The Cuban Five: Who They Are, Why They Were Framed, Why They Should Be Free. Help get it out and join with others to “Free the Cuban Five!”
 
 
Related articles:
Minneapolis exhibit draws new support in fight to free Cuban 5
Protests, meetings mark 15 years since arrest of Cuban Five
Who are the Cuban 5?
Nelson Mandela: Cuba’s aid to Africa is unparalleled
 
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home