On Sept. 12, 1998 - an ironic date, given the more recent events of September 11, 2001 — five Cubans (two of whom are also U.S. citizens) were arrested by the FBI and placed in solitary confinement. A few days later, on Sept. 15, 1998, formal charges of "conspiracy of being foreign agents" were filed in relation to the arrests of Fernando González Llort, René González Sehwerert, Antonio Guerrero Rodríguez, Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, and Ramón Labañino Salazar.

Then, in October 1998, U.S. government prosecutors put forward in court the following charges: "conspiracy, conspiracy to commit espionage, being unauthorized foreign agents, and possession of forged documents." And in May 1999 a new charge was filed against Gerardo Hernández, accusing him of "conspiracy to commit murder." (Alonso Falcón, 2002, p. 93)

On June 8, 2001, a jury in Miami, Florida, handed down its verdict that the five Cubans were "guilty of all charges against them" (Alonso Falcón, 2002, p. 96) and on Dec. 11, 2001, Judge Joan Leonard announced maximum prison sentences for all five Cuban defendants:

* Gerardo Hernández Nordelo: 2 life sentences plus 15 years

* Ramón Labañino Salazar: 1 life sentence plus 18 years

* Antonio Guerrero Rodriguez: 1 life sentence plus 16 years

* Fernando González Llort: 19 years

* René González Sehwerert: 15 years

I view this case not only as an injustice committed in our names but also as a blatant political maneuver by the U.S. government against Cuba and in support of "terrorist" organizations based in the United States. After reviewing the "legal" case, I will share some of the words of René González Sehwerert, currently in prison in Bradford, Pa.

That justice was not done in this case can be seen first of all given that the trial was held in Miami, a city known to be dominated by individuals and groups seeking to overthrow the current government in Cuba. The oppressive climate in which the jury had to deliberate when oral arguments were begun on Dec. 6, 2000, is evidenced by an article in El Nuevo Herald (Dec. 2, 2000): "The fear of a violent reaction. . .[by] the Cuban exile community if a jury decides to acquit. . .has led many potential [jury] candidates to excuse themselves from civic duty." (quoted in Alarcón de Quesada, 2002, p. 14)

Not surprisingly, the jury reached its verdict (on June 8, 2001) after only a few hours of deliberation and without having raised to the judge "a single question or doubt regarding the endless issues addressed in these lengthy proceedings, the testimony of 90 witnesses, or the mountain of evidence put forward." (Alonso Falcón, 2002, p. 96)

Another indication of injustice is that the Cuban defendants were kept in solitary confinement, from Sept. 12, 1998, until Feb. 3, 2000, during which "it was impossible for them to maintain adequate communication with their attorneys and prepare their defense with the minimum guarantees of due process. (Alarcón de Quesada, 2002, p. 7)

Injustice can also be seen in that almost all of the charges were framed as if these five Cubans were "spies" operating against the United States. And the defendants were found guilty on all counts despite the fact that the "evidence and arguments put forward by the defense. . .made it abundantly clear that the defendants had not sought out information that would threaten the national security of the United States. . .Testimony to this effect was provided by officials from the FBI itself and the Southern Command, and high-ranking military figures who had held major positions in the U.S. armed forces." (Alarcón de Quesada, 2002, p. 11)

There is no question that the five Cuban defendants, who on Dec. 29, 2001, were granted the Honorary Title of "Heroes of the Republic of Cuba" by the Cuban National Assembly of People’s Power, "had infiltrated various counter-revolutionary groups to gather information on their plans for aggression against Cuba." (Alonso Falcón, 2002, p. 93) But the only way this constitutes acts of espionage against the United States is if groups like Brothers to the Rescue are, in fact, part of the U.S. government or operating on behalf of the United States. While one might draw this conclusion, it is certainly not something that the United States is willing to state officially.

There should be little doubt that Cubans and others who identify with or at least recognize the current government in Cuba have reason to fear from counter-revolutionary groups, mostly based in the United States. For example, such groups’ "acts of sabotage and aggression. . .have cost the lives of 3,478 Cuban citizens and left another 2,099 physically disabled [and have included]. . .mercenary invasions, explosions, fires provoked in industries, businesses and recreational facilities, bombs planted in Cuban offices abroad, the murder of Cuban diplomatic personnel abroad, the burning of sugar cane fields, the introduction of plagues, viruses and diseases, gunfire on coastal settlements and tourism facilities, hundreds of attempts on the lives of the principal leaders of the revolution, particularly Fidel Castro, armed infiltrations and the planting of bombs in major hotels." (Alonso Falcón, 2000, p. 88)

Moreover, these groups have "perpetrated hundreds of terrorist acts on U.S. soil against institutions or individuals connected to Cuba or supportive of normal relations" between Cuba and the United States. (Alonso Falcón, 2002, p. 90)

Ironically, only three months before the arrests of the five Cuban defendants, in June 1998, the Cuban government, as it had previously done on "numerous occasions[,]. . .provided a high-level FBI delegation with thick files and audio and video cassette recordings documenting the terrorist plans and actions of the Miami mafia. These officials promised to take action based on the evidence handed over by Cuba." (Alonso Falcón, 2002, pp. 90-91)

It seems too much to be merely a coincidence that the FBI is informed of effective data gathering on anti-Cuban government groups operating in the United States, which perhaps certain agents shared with leaders or supporters of these groups, and then three months later arrests some or all of the individuals involved in gathering such evidence.

In April of this year I wrote to René González Sehwerert, who is imprisoned in the McKean Federal Corrections Institution (P.O. Box 8000, Bradford, PA 16701) after having read these and others of his words at the sentencing hearing on December 14, 2001:

"I condemn terrorism. . .[and] war, and I feel profound contempt for those people, so completely obsessed with their hatreds and petty interests, who have devoted so much time to harming their country by promoting terrorism and fostering war. . . .I believe that innocent people should not have to die for this, neither in Cuba, nor here in the United States, nor anywhere else in the world. . . .Unfortunately, not everyone feels the same way. When it comes to Cuba, the rules apparently change, and some people think that terrorism and war are good things to do. (González Sehwerert, 2002, pp. 46-47)

"[It was said] that we had come here to destroy the United States. . . Neither the evidence in this case, nor history, nor our beliefs, nor the education we received, supports the absurd idea that Cuba wants to destroy the United States. (p. 52)

"I am very sorry that I was unable to tell [the U.S. government agents] that I was cooperating with the Cuban government. If they had an honest stance toward terrorism, I could have done so, and together we could have found a solution to the problem." (pp. 48-49)

After receiving my letter along with sections of the Merton Center’s The New People highlighting the U.S.-Cuba Sister Cities conference in Havana in February 2002 and an article I co-authored on how the longer history of U.S.-Philippines relations presents challenges for teaching about terrorism and Islam in these countries, René wrote me back, stating with incredible clarity and courage:

"Now, thanks to another bestiality of the empire, five Cubans are confined in the prisons of this country; but you can take for sure that with us has also been incarcerated a bit of that heroic Cuba, whose history will be with us in these moments to make us free in prison. . .And if it wasn’t enough, we also have our solidarity. What else can we ask for?. . .So, we won’t let down either you or Cuba. We are conscious of the responsibility which has fallen on our shoulders and we’ll know to behave as high as our history, which is the least we can do in furtherance of that world that both you and us are building together."

René’s words call for a beginning (or, for some of us, a continuation) of a struggle to free these Cuban brothers and to use the injustice of their case to wake up the American people to the need of fundamental changes in the United States. We cannot let such injustices be done in our names.

Alarcón de Quesada, Ricardo (2002) "A Sun that Will Never Burn Out." Pages 5-19 in With Honor, Courage and Pride. Havana: Printing Office of the Cuban Council of State.

Alonso Falcón, Randy (2002) "The Five Heroes Imprisoned by the Empire." Pages 87-100 in With Honor, Courage and Pride. Havana: Printing Office of the Cuban Council of State.

González Sehwerert, René (2002) "Statement Presented. . .at the Sentencing Hearing, Friday, December 14, 2001." Pages 45-56 in With Honor, Courage and Pride. Havana: Printing Office of the Cuban Council of State.