The facts about this brutal record must be told broadly. That is key to expand support for the campaign for the release of five Cuban revolutionaries locked up in U.S. prisons today: Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, Antonio Guerrero, and René González. Venezuela’s demand, rejected by Washington, for the extradition of Posada Carriles to be tried for his crimes also deserves support.

Why were the five arrested? For defending their country and revolution. They entered right-wing groups that have carried out assaults on Cuba with Washington’s complicity. They were arrested in 1998 on charges including “conspiracy to commit espionage,” “conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent,” and, in the case of Hernández, “conspiracy to commit murder.”

After a federal trial that proved none of the charges, they were given draconian sentences, from 15 years to a double life term. In a breach of elementary human rights, U.S. authorities have denied visas to Adriana Pérez and Olga Salanueva to visit their husbands: Gerardo Hernández and René González, respectively. Last year a federal three-judge panel ordered a new trial on the basis that the five did not receive a fair trial in Miami. This August, however, the full court reversed that ruling, and it is now reviewing defense motions to overturn the convictions on other grounds.

The Cuban Five continue to carry out their political work behind bars, explaining to fellow prisoners the truth about the Cuban Revolution. Many workers have experience with police frame-ups and other forms of class “justice.” This includes workers railroaded to jail for being part of union battles, immigrants rounded up for the “crime” of seeking work, and youth brutalized by the cops.

From these experiences, many will readily understand the nature of the frame-up of the Cuban Five—and why justice cannot be expected from the capitalist court system but only through a broad international campaign for their release.

A September 23 march in Washington brought hundreds of people in the streets to demand freedom for the Cuban Five. It included a public forum presenting facts about the case and about Washington’s assault on the Cuban Revolution. There are many more opportunities to organize educational events as part of this effort, from campus meetings involving student groups to introducing the case at union and social protest actions.

The Cuban Five exemplify why Washington hates the Cuban Revolution: because, by making a socialist revolution and taking political power, Cuban workers and farmers show it is possible to build a society based on solidarity, not the dog-eat-dog brutality of capitalism. And that is a “dangerous” example for working people worldwide.

Free the Cuban Five! Extradite Posada to Venezuela! Stop Washington’s economic war against Cuba!
 
 
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