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The Popular Education Project to Free the Cuban 5

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Who are the Cuban 5?

They are Fernando Gonzalez Llort, Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo, Ramon Labanino Salazar, Rene Gonzalez Sehwerert, and Antonio Guerrero Rodriguez!!

These men are poets, artists, scholars, fathers, husbands, and sons; they were arrested in September 1998, spent 17 months in solidarity confinement, and were convicted in June 2001 in a U.S. federal court for defending their country of Cuba from terrorists based in Miami. The Cuban 5 were convicted after a politically charged trial in Miami, in which the U.S. government charged them with threatening national security and engaging in espionage against U.S. military bases. They were sentenced to prison terms which range from 15 years to double life sentences. Some of the Cuban 5 have been denied visitation from family members in several years.

The Cuban 5 were not spies, they infiltrated Cuban-American right-wing terrorist organizations based in Miami to monitor their actions; these proven CIA-sponsored organizations have been responsible for the deaths and injury of hundreds of people in Cuba and other countries. The Cuban 5 infiltrated these organizations to protect the national sovereignty of their homeland Cuba and to safeguard the American populous from terrorist actions within the United States. The Cuban 5 shared the information with U.S. officials when dangerous actions were planned by these terrorist organizations. Cuba has repeatedly offered information and cooperation to the U.S. government to combat these terrorist organizations, but the U.S. government has always declined to cooperate with Cuba.

With a trial based in Miami, it was impossible for the Cuban 5 to receive a fair trial. Under the threat of Cuban American right-wing terrorist organizations, defense attorneys made motions for a change of venue, which were denied. The judge, prosecution and U.S. government officials suppressed defense evidence and made sure that key witnesses for the defense would not testify.

Also, in 14,000 pages of transcript, no espionage evidence was ever introduced. It was also found that the information that the Cuban 5 had amassed was not government classified, but public information that did not threaten national security. It was clear that the charges brought up against the Cuban 5 were politically motivated fabricated, yet on June 8, 2001 they were found guilty of espionage and threatening national security.

After their sentencing the Appeal process began, the initial appeal took over 27 months to complete with a three judge appellate court panel throwing out all the convictions due to the denial of a fair trial in Miami. Then, the government petitioned the entire Court of twelve judges of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to review the panel decision in a procedure called en banc. One year to the day later the Court, with a strong dissent by two judges, reversed the 93 page decision of the three original judges, rejecting the finding that an environment of violence and intimidation pervaded Miami.

On May 27, 2005 the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention determined that their detention was arbitrary and urged the United States government to take measures required to rectify that arbitrariness.

For the past 7 years, the defense team has been engaged in an extensive appeals process. The fight for a change in venue and retrial has been lost; the Defense team is working to expose the errors made in sentencing and the fabrication of facts within the case that were never proven in the trail.

On September 2, 2008, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta denied the defense’s petition to reconsider its June decision in the case of five Cuban intelligence agents accused of spying in the United States. A three-judge panel of the court on June 4, 2008, upheld the convictions and sentences for two of the so-called Cuban Five, but vacated the other three sentences and sent them back to a Miami federal court for new sentences. The court’s decision to uphold their previous ruling means that Gerardo Hernandez and Rene Gonzales will continue serving time while Fernando Gonzales, Ramon Labinino, and Antonio Guerrero will appear before Judge Joan Lenard in Miami for new sentences. The Defense team has until December 1st, 2008 to appeal to the Supreme Court. Now more than ever, we must educate people about this case.

We must Organize, Unite and Fight for the freedom of the Cuban 5!

Sending the Cuban 5 Money:

The commissary donations we send prisoners allow them to make telephone calls to family, legal counsel and friends; it also allows them to buy much needed toiletries and paper supplies. If you want to send money to the Cuban 5, it must be sent to the following address and in the following manner:

Federal Bureau of Prisons

(Prisoner’s Name and Prison Number)

PO Box 474701

Des Moines IA 50947-0001

The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will only approve/accept the following items, which it calls “Negotiable instruments”: Money Orders, government checks, Foreign Negotiable Instruments or Business checks. NOTE: No Personal Checks; they will be sent back to you.

Endorse the money order/check out to the prisoner’s committed name and register number (prison number) on the funds.

The name and return address of the sender must appear in the upper left hand corner of the envelope to ensure that funds can be returned when necessary. Don’t send items other than funds top the above provided address. The BOP will discard letters, pictures and anything else you send.

Write to the Cuban 5:

Rene Gonzalez Sehweret

#58738-004

F.C.I. Mariana

P.O. Box 7007

Marianna, FL, 32447-7007

Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo

#58739-004

U.S. Penitentiary-Victorville

P.O. Box 5300

Adelanto, CA, 92301

Ramon Labañino Salazar

(Address the letter to Luis Medina

#58734-004)

U.S.P. McCreary
P.O. Box 3000
Pine Knot, KY 42635

Fernando Gonzalez LLort

(Address the letter to Ruben Campa

#58733-004)

F.C.I. Terre Haute
P.O. Box 33
Terre Haute, IN 47808

Antonio Guerrero Rodriguez

#58741-004

F.C.I. Florence
P.O. Box 6000
Florence, CO 81226

Cuban 5 Biographies:

Antonio Guerrero Rodríguez was born in the city of Miami on October 16, 1958. Graduated as airfield construction engineer from the Technical University of Kiev, in the former Soviet Union. Antonio is a poet. He has written a considerable number of poems, a selection of which has been published in English and Spanish under the title "Desde Mi Altura". He has two sons of 11 and 16 years of age. He was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 10 years.

Without taking into consideration any extenuating circumstances, the maximum penalty was imposed on Antonio for every infraction of which he was found guilty. This shows the unmeasured and irrational nature of the penalties. According to U.S. law a maximum life sentence can be imposed in the event the defendant is proved to be potentially dangerous, aggressive or open to recidivism. At no point did the judge, jury or Public Prosecutor ever complain about the behavior of the accused, nor was there any evidence to suggest that he had not maintained high moral and ethical conduct during the entire period he lived in the USA. The issue of necessity was not even considered to be an extenuating circumstance.

The charges of a) Conspiring to commit crimes against the United States and b) Conspiring to commit acts of espionage are practically the same. Yet the maximum penalty was applied on both counts. No proof exists to indicate any conspiracy to commit a crime. As to the espionage charge, in what must be without a precedent, Antonio was convicted without proof or witnesses to indicate that he had sought or obtained information that could be detrimental to the USA. In fact, there were witnesses that specifically denied he had practiced espionage: Generals Clapper, Whilelm and Atkeson, Admiral Carroll and Colonel Buckner.

As far as c) Conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent is concerned, to be convicted of this charge the accused had to have demonstrated that he knew of this law beforehand. Although in general not knowing the law does not relieve a citizen of their civic responsibilities, there are unusual cases such as this where an accused has been exonerated because the applicable statute was not common knowledge. The civil and political rights of Antonio Guerrero, a US citizen by birth, were thereby violated.

René González Sehweret was born in Chicago, US, on August 13, 1956. René is a pilot and flight instructor. He has two daughters of 5 and 16 years of age. At present, his diary on the trial, which is a denunciation of the irregularities and violations in the process he was subjected to, is being published. René was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment.

Charged with: Conspiracy to commit crimes against the United States: carries a maximum five-year term. Conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent: carries a maximum 10-year term. It is aggravated for helping and persuading Antonio, Joseph and Amarilys to become unregistered foreign agents.

Why he is innocent: The maximum penalty was imposed on Ramon for every infraction of which he was found guilty, without taking into consideration any of the extenuating circumstances. This shows the unmeasured and irrational nature of the penalties. According to U.S. law, a maximum life sentence can be imposed in the event the defendant is proved to be potentially dangerous, aggressive or open to recidivism. At no point did the judge, jury or Public Prosecutor ever complain about the behavior of the accused, nor was there any evidence to suggest that he had not maintained high moral and ethic conduct during the time he had lived in the USA. The issue of necessity was not even considered an extenuating circumstance.

There is no direct evidence for the charge of a) Conspiracy to commit crimes against the United States. As for b) Conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent, it is necessary to have proved that the defendant knew about the registration requirement stated by law. Although generally speaking, lack of knowledge about the law does not absolve a citizen for not abiding by it, there are unusual cases such as this where an accused has been exonerated because the applicable statute was not common knowledge.

The Declaration of Civil and Political Rights was violated by obstructing Rene's right as a US citizen by birth to family meetings; depriving him of visits to the penitentiary by his wife and daughters; and eventually deporting his wife Olga Salanueva to Cuba. Olga Salanueva has applied twice for a visa to travel to the US to visit her husband. Both times her application has been turned down.

In the case of Rene's youngest daughter, Ivette, a US citizen by birth, Article 9 of the UN Declaration of the Children's Rights has been violated for having separated a child from a parent.

Gerardo Hernández Nordelo was born in the City of Havana on June 4, 1965. Graduated in 1989 as Licenciado (Cuban university degree) of International Political Relations from the Higher Institute of International Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is a caricaturist and has published his drawings in the Cuban press and displayed them in exhibitions in various galleries. A book containing his works will be published soon. Gerardo was unjustly sentenced to two life terms plus 15 years.

Charged with: Conspiracy to commit crimes against the United States: carries a maximum five-year term. Conspiracy to commit espionage: carries a maximum life term. Conspiracy to commit murder: carries a maximum life term. Obtaining and using false identification: carries a maximum five year term with an additional five for illegal use of same. Conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent: carries a maximum 10-year term aggravated by an additional charge for persuading Rene, Antonio, Nilo, Linda, German and Alonso to become unregistered foreign agents.

Why he is Innocent: The maximum penalty was imposed on Gerardo for every infraction of which he was found guilty, without taking into consideration any of the extenuating circumstances. This shows the unmeasured and irrational nature of the penalties. According to U.S. law a maximum life sentence can be imposed in the event the defendant is proved to be potentially dangerous, aggressive or open to recidivism. At no point did the judge, jury or Public Prosecutor ever complain about the behavior of the accused, nor was there any evidence to suggest that he had not maintained high moral and ethic conduct during the entire period he lived in the USA. The issue of necessity was not even considered to be an extenuating circumstance.

In the case of: c) Conspiracy to commit murder the evidential report presented no proof, witnesses or even circumstantial evidence that Gerardo had committed such a crime. By frequent incursions into Cuban air space, the victims in this case provoked, ridiculed and disobeyed the Air Traffic Control System of Cuba, the Cuban Civil Aeronautical Association and the Cuban Air Force.

The charge of conspiracy to murder was presented a full eight months after the initial charges were brought against Gerardo Hernandez and followed Miami press reports that the spies are related to the downing of the light aircraft. However, Gerardo had no authority to decide upon or alter the decision of Brothers to the Rescue to fly on February 24th, 1996. The FBI was aware of the fact that when the planes were downed, Gerardo Hernandez was on vacation in Cuba.

In the judgment of Cuba, the Miami court violated International Law and the Act of State Doctrine, by personalizing Gerardo's behavior who did not represent the State of Cuba, had no role in the Cuban Air Force and took no part in the events of that day.

With the charge of b) Obtaining and using false identification, no proof was submitted of any intention to cause harm to the United States and, as such, no crime was committed with the use of the false identification.

As far as d) Conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent is concerned, to be convicted of this charge the accused had to have demonstrated that he knew of this law beforehand. Although generally speaking, lack of knowledge about the law does not absolve a citizen for not abiding by it, there are unusual cases such as this where an accused has been exonerated because the applicable statute was not common knowledge.

Ramón Labañino Salazar born in the City of Havana on June 9, 1963. Graduated from the University of Havana as an economist in 1986. Ramón has three daughters 5, 9 and 14 years of age. He was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 18 years.

Charged with: Conspiracy to commit crimes against the United States: carries a maximum five-year term. Conspiracy to commit espionage: carries a maximum life term. Obtaining and using false identification: carries a five-year term. This charge is aggravated for having used five or more identity documents and having provided false information on a passport request form. Conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent: carries a maximum 10-year term. It is aggravated for helping and persuading Antonio, Joseph and Amarilys to become unregistered foreign agents.

Why he is Innocent: The maximum penalty was imposed on Ramon for every infraction for which he was found guilty, without taking into consideration any of the extenuating circumstances. This shows the unmeasured and irrational nature of the penalties. According to U.S. law, a maximum life sentence can be imposed in the event the defendant is proved to be potentially dangerous, aggressive or open to recidivism. At no point did the judge, jury or Public Prosecutor ever complain about the behavior of the accused, nor was there any evidence to suggest that he had not maintain high moral and ethic conduct during the time they lived in the USA. The issue of necessity was not even considered an extenuating circumstance.

The charges a) Conspiracy to commit crime against the United States and b) Conspiracy to commit espionage are practically the same. He received, however, two life sentences on both charges. There is no direct evidence for the charge conspiracy to commit crime. As for conspiracy to commit espionage, in an unprecedented case, Ramon is condemned evidence or testimonies showing that he had obtained or looked for information against the United States. There were some witnesses who specifically dismissed the espionage charges: generals Clapper, Whilelm and Atkeson, admiral Carrol and colonel Buckner. As to the charge c) Obtaining and using false identification, there was no evidence of malicious intent against the US government. He did not commit any crime when using false documents.

As for d) Conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent, it is necessary to have proved that the defendant knew about the registration requirement stated by law. Although generally speaking, lack of knowledge about the law does not absolve a citizen for not abiding by it, there are unusual cases such as this where an accused has been exonerated because the applicable statute was not common knowledge.

Ramon's sentence is aggravated by the fact that he is accused of being the leader of a group, a charge also presented against Gerardo.

Fernando González Llort was born in the City of Havana on August 18, 1963. Graduated as Licenciado (Cuban university degree) of International Political Relations from the Higher Institute of International Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Fernando was sentenced to 19 years of imprisonment.

Charged with: Conspiracy to commit crimes against the United States: carries a maximum five-year term. Obtaining and using false identification: carries a maximum five year term with an additional five for illegal use of same. Conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent: carries a maximum 10-year term aggravated by an additional charge for persuading Antonio to become an unregistered foreign agent.

Why he is Innocent: Without taking into consideration any extenuating circumstances, the maximum penalty was imposed on Fernando for every infraction of which he was found guilty. This shows the unmeasured and irrational nature of the penalties. According to U.S. law a maximum life sentence can be imposed in the event the defendant is proved to be potentially dangerous, aggressive or open to recidivism. At no point did the judge, jury or Public Prosecutor ever complain about the behavior of the accused, nor was there any evidence to suggest that he had not maintained high moral and ethical conduct during the entire period he lived in the USA. The issue of necessity was not even considered to be an extenuating circumstance.

As to the charge a) Conspiracy to commit crimes against the United States, no proof exists to indicate any conspiracy to commit a crime. In fact, Fernando had the mission of monitoring the activities of well-known terrorist, Orlando Bosch, who the U.S. authorities themselves describe as a public enemy and who is known to have collected money to send explosives and arms to Cuba, thereby violating the U.S. Neutrality Act.

As far as c) Conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent is concerned, to be convicted of this charge the accused had to have demonstrated that he knew of this law beforehand. Although generally speaking, lack of knowledge about the law does not absolve a citizen for not abiding by it, there are unusual cases such as this where an accused has been exonerated because the applicable statute was not common knowledge.

Contact the Project at: freethecuban5@gmail.com or call us at The Free the Cuban 5 Hotline 718-601-4751