Large Gathering Greets Aleida Guevara March and Irma Gonzalez in Winnipeg

More than 250 people gathered in a downtown church Sunday evening to learn about the case of the Cuban Five from Aleida Guevara March, daughter of Che Guevara, and Irma Gonzalez, daughter of Rene Gonzalez, one of the Cuban Five. Winnipeg was the fifth stop in their 12-city tour, organized nationally by the Canadian Network on Cuba, and locally by the Manitoba-Cuba Solidarity Committee.

In her address, Irma provided the audience with a brief history of what her father and the others were doing in Miami prior to their arrest on September 12, 1998. The Five - Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino, Fernando Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero, and Rene Gonzalez - had infiltrated some of the Miami anti-Cuba groups in order to find out what terrorist actions they were planning. They were arrested 90 days after the Cuban government provided the FBI with information that the five men had collected, even though this information was not classified or secret in any way, Irma explained.

The Five were charged with conspiracy to commit espionage - a charge Irma described as ludicrous - as well as with false identity, and conspiracy to commit murder, among others, and were held in solitary confinement for 17 months. They were tried in Miami where a fair trial was impossible, and sentenced to terms ranging from 15 years to two life terms plus 15 years. Not a single shred of evidence to support the charges was produced at the trial. They remain incarcerated in five different prisons around the U.S., and their rights routinely continue to be violated, including denying them access to their lawyers and not allowing family visits. Irma, who is only 18 years old, has not seen her father since his arrest.

In her speech, Aleida appealed to the audience to consider that what she and others are asking for is not any special consideration, but simply that American laws be upheld. If the law had been followed, the Five would not have been arrested, tried and convicted. She appealed to the audience to learn about the case and come to their own conclusions about what had happened, and if they feel strongly about it, to lend a hand to this cause. She spoke about the modern history of Cuba since the Revolution and what the Cuba people are attempting to do - to live independently according to their own desires, a concept which the United States does not seem prepared to accept.