The Story of the Miami Five

On September 12, 1998, five Cuban nationals were arrested in Miami, accused of endangering U.S. national security and of spying against the United States. For more than three years, they endured constant harrassment and solitary confinement in a south Florida penitentiary and the denial of their fundamental human rights; their persecution culminated in politicized trials which resulted in their convictions and sentencing to prison terms. Of the five, three have been sentenced to life in prison, with the final life sentence imposed on Antonio Guerrero on December 28, 2001, while two have received sentences of 15 and 19 years.

The five - Fernando Gonzalez Llort, Rene Gonzalez, Ramon Labanino, Gerardo Hernandez, along with Guerrero - have been convicted of spying against U.S. military installations. What these men were actually doing was infiltrating the ranks of anti-Cuban organizations in Miami in order to gain information which could stem the series of terrorist attacks being carried out from the United States against Cuba. In his remarks before the judge at his sentencing, Antonio Guererro pointed out that Cuba has the inalienable right, as does every country, to defend itself from terrorist attacks. He called the verdict a sacrilege given by a jury incapable of handing down justice. Earlier in December, when Ramon Labanino was sentenced to life in prison, he spoke out as well, stating that their actions were aimed at preventing the deaths of innocent human beings and defending both the United States and Cuba against terrorism. Guerrero's defence attorney pointed out the irony of convicting these men of actions which would be considered heroic if Americans undertook them in Afghanistan. The attorney charged that the district attorneys in the case were more interested in obtaining the approval of the reactionary Cuban-American community than in serving justice and truth.

Last August, after the conviction of the five men, the Cuban Parliament issued a statement pointing out that their incarceration marked a new stage of anti-Cuban aggression by the U.S. It pointed out that the five were in fact political prisoners who were being subjected to extreme humiliation and punishment because of their dignity and courage. It was impossible for the men to receive a fair trial in Miami, a city where anti-Cuban terrorists walk the streets freely, including Orlando Bosch, the mastermind of the explosion of a Cubana airliner in 1976 which killed all 73 passengers and crew. The authorities do nothing to prevent or condemn their activities, while Cubans fighting against terrorism are sentenced to life in prison.

Over the past three years, hundreds of thousands of people around the world, including in the U.S., have condemned the unjust arrest, conviction and sentencing of the five Cuban nationals and have demanded their release.

In My Truth

poem by Antonio Guerrero, written in prison

[Reason is like a colossal embrace

that lifts justice up where

the avarice of men cannot be reached.

Jose Marti]

Where is the reason they asked themselves.

But amidst fears and other indignities

the key was lost

and reason remained behind the door.

And I stayed confined on the other side

in this world which is not the one I want.

And although suddenly the sky filled up with shadows,

let those so happy of their latest disgracefulness know

that in my courage terror does not function

that in my virtue avarice does not harm

that in my truth dignity cohabits

that in my love happiness always comes.

June 9, 2001 (from the collection Desde mi altura, (From My Altitude), poems written in prison by Antonio Guerrero