"Wow, if we were in Cuba and had all this equipment . . . "

Olga Salanueva, wife of Cuban five anti-terrorist René González, describes her years as immigrant worker in US

"This was in Jackson Memorial Hospital. It’s the only public hospital in Miami-Dade County, but it has many resources and is very well equipped. I thought: Wow, if we were in Cuba and had all this equipment, the things we could do, with our doctors and the training they have! And that includes the way doctors, nurses, and other health care workers are trained to care for you as a human being. That’s why the U.S. government doesn’t want Cuba to advance, that’s why they’ve blockaded us."

In an interview, conducted Feb. 27, 2012, in Havana, Olga Salanueva recounted some of her experiences as an immigrant worker in the United States, where she lived and worked for four years before being deported back to her native Cuba. Her story is one that millions of workers in the United States, immigrant and native-born, will identify with.

Salanueva’s husband, René González, is one of five Cuban revolutionaries framed up by the U.S. government and fighting for their freedom. Incarcerated for more than 13 years, González was transferred in October 2011 from federal prison to “supervised release.” He is ordered to remain in the United States under the control of the federal courts’ probation office until October 2014.

Read the interview 

UN High Commissioner Meets with Wife of Geraldo Hernandez

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navenethem Pillay

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navenethem Pillay, met with Adriana Perez, wife of Gerardo Hernández, in Geneva on Monday.
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At the meeting, Adriana referred to the damage to health and the suffering of the five anti-terrorist fighters and their families caused by their 14 years unjust imprisonment. 
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Gerardo Hernendez, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, Antonio Guerrero, and René González were condemned to long sentences in a rigged and arbitrary trial for warning their country of terrorist acts planned by the Miami mafia.
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In the case of Geraldo, who is serving two life sentences plus 15 years, the US government also prevents him from seeing his wife.
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Adriana Perez told the UN High Commissioner of the need for that body to directly interfere in favour of the motion requested by the defense lawyer of Rene Gonzalez, so that he be allowed to travel to Cuba to visit his brother, who is seriously ill.
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Rene Gonzalez was released on October 7, 2011, under supervision and he is banned from leaving US territory for 3 years.
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Adriana Perez also expressed the wish for reunification on behalf of the elderly mothers of the five Cuban antiterrorist fighters.

(Prensa Latina)

Welcome to 2012

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New Year's Greetings from the Cuban Five

URGENT ACTION

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Call President Obama and Demand Rene Gonzalez be returned to CUBA!

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On October 7th, René Gonzalez, of the Cuban 5, will be released on parole after 13 years of unjust incarceration. The U.S. government is forcing him to serve his three year probation in Florida; where he has no family and will be at the mercy of the hostile community of right-wing Cuban Americans that helped secure his incarceration.
 
The Popular Education Project to Free the Cuba 5 is calling on all Cuban 5 supporters to pick the telephone and call President Barack Obama and demand that René Gonzalez be returned to Cuba, where he belongs.
 
Tell your family and friends to call!
 
Forward this message out to your entire Address book, post on twitter, Facebook, or Google +!

Thousands of phone calls can make a difference!

Call President Obama at
202-456-1111 and leave a message!

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BACKGROUND
> Judge Lenard’s Cruel and Bizarre Decision against René

Important Revelation in El Paso

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In the trial underway in El Paso against Luis Posada Carriles for lying, a very important revelation has emerged.

In her sworn testimony January 18, 2011, an officer from the Department of Homeland Security admitted that on behalf of the DHS, she asked U.S. Attorney Caroline Heck Miller to charge Posada for his criminal activities, and Ms. Heck Miller refused to do so. This took place in August, 2005.

Heck Miller: Miller refused
to lay criminal activities

At exactly the same time - August 2005 - the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta decided to reverse the convictions from the trial in Miami of the five anti-terrorist Cubans who'd been indicted by this same Ms. Heck Miller. In its landmark ruling, the Court referred extensively to the long list of crimes that the Five had tried to prevent, committed by Posada and other terrorists, and described the Miami trial as "a perfect storm" of prejudice and hostility against the accused.

What will the judges in Atlanta say now that they know that the same attorney who urged the harshest possible sentences for Gerardo, Ramón, Antonio, Fernando and René was the one who prevented Posada from being judged for his real crimes?

On this same January 18, 2011, Ms. Heck Miller reappeared in Miami. Coincidentally, on that very day, she asked for an extension in order to respond to the habeas corpus petition filed for Gerardo Hernández Nordelo. Her concern is understandable. The only purpose for the arbitrary and unjust indictment against the Five was to defend anti-Cuban terrorism, the preferred work of Miami prosecutors, as has been proven once again, in El Paso.

Of course there were representatives of the so-called news media in El Paso. Keeping a disciplined silence, as usual.

ALSO SEE
The Lead Prosecutor in the Cuban Five Case Refused a DHS Request to Press Criminal Charges against Posada Carriles

Source

Translated by Machetera. She is a member of Tlaxcala, the international network of translators for linguistic diversity (http://www.tlaxcala-int.org).

Billboard Demanding Release of the Cuban Five Removed in Miami

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A billboard which had been displayed in Miami on Tuesday demanding the release of the five Cuban antiterrorists unjustly imprisoned in the United States since 1998 was removed on Wednesday thus ending the ambiance of tolerance and freedom of speech in this city of Florida in barely 24 hours, Granma newspaper reports.

The billboard had been paid by the Miami-based Alianza Martiana organization on 37th Ave. and 4th St NW, exactly in front of the entrance to Casino de los Perros.
 
Alianza Martiana, named after Cuban national hero Jose Marti, emerged on January 28, 2001, on the day of Marti’s birth anniversary. The alliance is made up of Cuban-Americans and Latin-Americans. It has repeatedly spoken out for the release of Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez —internationally known as the Cuban Five- in meetings held in different parts of the United States.

The organization has publicly denounced the biased trial to which the Cuban Five were submitted which condemned them to unfair sentences.

The Cuban Five were charged on alleged accusations of being a threat to the US national security when they were actually trying to stop Miami-based anti-Cuba groups from continuing to conduct terrorist crimes against the Cuban people.

Source

International Human Rights Day: 5 days for the 5

Starting today (December 10) the International Day of Human Rights, and for the next 5 consecutive days, supporters of the Cuban Five around the world have been asked to call, or send faxes, or send e-mails, or telegrams to the White House to demand that President Obama  Free the 5 Cuban Patriots imprisoned in the United States for defending their homeland.

Full information is available  on the Free the Five Webpage click here to go 

Rev. Lucius Walker: Aug. 3, 1930 - Sept. 7, 2010

It is with profound sadness that we pass along the message below, informing us of the death of our dear friend the Reverend Lucius Walker, a steadfast supporter of Cuba, the Cuban Five, and many other humanitarian causes. Rev. Walker was the originator and driving force behind the 21 Cuba Friendshipment Caravans, which brought solidarity and much more to Cuba from the people of the United States and the world. There will be more news to come.

From IFCO/Pastors for Peace:

It is with immeasurable sadness that we write to let you know of the passing of our beloved, heroic, prophetic leader Rev. Lucius Walker Jr. this morning. We will write with more information as soon as arrangements are made. Please keep his family and his IFCO family in your prayers.

We express our deepest condolences to his family and friends. Lucius Walker, ¡Presente!

Source