14 Years of Injustice: Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names
Exclusively in the new print
issue of CounterPunch
Weekend
Edition October 5-7, 2012
Time to Free the Cuban Five
14 Years of Injustice
by SAUL LANDAU
Five Cubans fighting terrorism in south Florida have served
14 years of prison, more than enough time for the US public to learn from its
media about the horrific injustice done by the US government to these Cuban
men. But the media has barely touched the grotesque frame up of Gerarddo Hernandz,
Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzlaez, Ramon Labanino and Rene Gonzalez, the
Cuban Five as they are called. These Cuban intelligence agents volunteered in
the 1990s to infiltrate violent groups of Miami-based Cuban exiles how had
orchestrated bombings in Cuba of tourist spots — hotels, restaurants, clubs and
bars and even the Havana airport where vacationers from Canada and Europe
arrive. By scaring foreigners with violence they hoped to intimidate tourists
from visiting Cuba, and thus hurt Cuba’s economy.
Cuban intelligence chiefs sent agents into south Florida
because the FBI had done nothing to stop the bombing plots or indeed discourage
the exile plotters from continuing their terrorist war against Cuba; so the
agents’ job was to discover the plots, and alert Havana so the local police
could thwart the violence. Havana then recycled the agents’ information to the
FBI. On some occasions, thanks to these men’s information the Bureau did
intercept caches of explosives and weapons destined to do harm inside Cuba. But
the Bureau did not bother the terrorists. Instead. in September 1998, FBI
agents busted the Cuban agents, and the Justice Department charged them with
conspiracy to commit espionage and one of them with murder. The later charge
referred to a prosecution-concocted story that Gerardo Hernandez, the
controller of the web of agents, had advised Havana of the date and time of
Jose Basulto and his Brothers to the Rescue’s planned flight time on February
24 1996, and that he might possibly drop weapons into Cuba. Cuban aviation
authorities warned the three small planes not to enter Cuban air space, but the
pilots ignored the warning, and Cuban MIGs shot down two of the planes, killing
both pilots and co-pilots. The craft carrying Basulto returned unscathed to
Miami.
The US government claimed the MIGs fired their rockets over
international, not Cuban air space. Cuba maintained the shoot downs occurred in
its air space. The NSA refused to deliver its vectors to the court, alleging
“national security” reasons. The jury never dealt with such issues of fact, nor
did it apply logic and reason.
The charge of murder against Gerardo Hernandez had no
factual foundatin, since Basulto himself had announced in public his plan to
fly on that day, and a White House official had told several people, including
journalists, of the Basulto plan as well. An intimidated Miami jury convicted
the Cuban agents in record time.
The Miami jury members, whose identity had become known to
the extremist exile community, understood that an acquittal verdict could
entail serious consequences for them. The intimidation tactics used by right
wing exile thugs (most people have watched The Sopranos and understand) had
become legendary. The judge faced the same community ambience, with hundreds of
thousands of exiles still furious with US government for having returned 6 year
old Elian Gonzalez, in accordance with all known law, to his father instead of
keeping the boy in Miami with his great uncle and cousins. His mother and her boyfriend
had both drowned when their boat heading for Miami sank. The boy in an inner
tube was rescued. Legally, the legally fit father had an air-tight case for
claiming his son, but a substantial sector Miami’s exile community viewed the
return of the boy as a “sell out” to Castro.
The five’s trial took place shortly after the Elian Gonzalez
affair. The trial judge, Joan Lenard, sided almost always with prosecution’s
motions and limited the scope of the defense. After the guilty verdict for
espionage and murder, she handed down draconian prison sentences, including two
consecutive life sentences plus fifteen years for Gerardo Hernandez.
Fourteen year have passed since the arrest of the five who
have served hard years in federal prisons for helping to fight terrorism in
south Florida.
In addition to the Kangaroo trial staged in Miami, the US
government has treated the five Cuban agents with cruelty by denying visas to
two of their wives and routinely sending the men into solitary confinement
despite their having behaved as model inmates.
Ramon Labañino, in a Georgia prison, receives only yearly
visits (US-imposed limits) from his wife, Elizabeth Palmeiro. Ramon got
re-sentenced to a shorter term, but when his wife learned the FBI had busted
him in 1998, his family’s life fell apart as it did for the families of the
other four.
The media has ignored this injustice for more than a decade.
They have ignored even the human story about the US refusing to grant visas so
that two of the five’s wives can visit their husbands.
The Five’s lawyers have filed a new writ offering new
evidence showing the US government paid members of the media to produce
negative stories on Cuba and the defendants before and during their trial, to
create an anti-Cuba atmosphere that jury members would absorb. That alone
should merit an overturning of the guilty verdict.
Amnesty International made several major points about the
case of the Five.
The
jury foreman said the jury believed US rather than Cuban evidence over the
place of the shoot down. That should not have been an issue. Because
Gerardo could not have known what would have happened, even if he had
given Cuba the data on the February 24 flights. How would a mid-level
intelligence agent know that Cuba’s leaders had decided to shoot down the
planes?
Ramon,
Antonio and Gerardo were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage, but
the government conceded to the jury they had no evidence, that the
defendants made no effort to obtain material related to an espionage
charge. For a Miami jury the fact that Cuban agents were in Miami was
sufficient for them to hand down a guilty verdict.
Amnesty
also condemned the trial results because the US government has material
related to Cuban espionage and the US government knew the five were not engaged,
and refused to turn over to the defense that information so the jury could
not know about that.
Finally, a perfect storm of prejudice existed in Miami. The
jury understood they had good reason to feel frightened should they vote for
acquittal.
The media needs to report this horrific injustice. Readers
should write President Obama with the clear message: FREE THE FIVE NOW.
Saul
Landau’s WILL
THE REAL TERRORIST PLEASE STAND UP, and his FIDEL are available on DVD from cinemalibrestore.com
--
SIGN THE JERICHO COINTELPRO PETITION!
Free All Political Prisoners!
www.jerichony.org
No comments:
Post a Comment