Accused of Conspiracy to commit Espionage against the United States, and other related charges, this group of freedom fighters has been held since being arrested on September 12th 1998 & convicted in 2001.
FACT:
The Cuban Five's actions were never directed toward the United States in any way.
FACT:
The Cuban Five organized NON-VIOLENT efforts to undermine the actions of Miami-based Terrorist activities TOWARD Cuba & The Castro Regime.
According to the "Who Are The Cuban Five" website http://www.freethefive.org/whoarethefive.htm
More than 3400 Cubans have been killed, and another 2000 more have been hurt in violence aimed against any advocate for normalized relations between the U.S. & Cuba-and against Cuba itself. Allegedly, Terrorist Networks such as Brothers to the Rescue & The Cuban American National Foundation have committed these acts with support from the FBI & CIA.
To combat this, the Cuban Five infiltrated these groups in order to be in position to alert Cuban Government Authorities of any pending attacks in advance. For this, The Cuban Five found themselves spending more than 17 months in solitary confinement-while awaiting trial. Ultimately the group members were each sentenced to FOUR Life In Prison Sentences +PLUS 75 Years on top of that.
In 2005, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals briefly overturned their sentences-only to reverse that decision & reinstate their sentences under pressure from the Bush/Cheney Regime. Eventually three out of the five members had their sentences reduced. René González was released in October 2011; and after over a year of fighting with the courts, returned to Cuba earlier this year.
We often discuss the persecution of our Black Freedom Fighters & Political Prisoners; but we must also add on with the stories of our Latin & Asian Partners in the struggle against Imperialism.
For more information on the Cuban Five, check out these websites:
http://wlrn.org/post/was-miami-trial-cuban-five-fair
http://www.freethefive.org/
http://consortiumnews.com/2013/09/13/the-cuban-five-case-at-15-years/