Part One
The untold story of the Cuban five :
Forbidden Heroes
“It takes all the running you can do,
to keep in the same place”- Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll
Remember Elian?
The case of Elian González, a six year-old boy forcefully retained by
his unknown great-uncles against the will of his father and in clear
defiance of US law and decency was widely reported by media around the
world.
People protesting to free the Cuban five |
Miami, the place of the kidnapping, became a kind of secessionist
city in North America when the Mayor, the chief of police, the
politicians, every newspaper and local radio and TV broadcasters,
together with religious and business institutions, joined with some of
the most notorious terrorist and violent groups in opposing the courts’
and government’s orders to free the boy.
It was necessary for a Special Forces team sent from Washington DC to
launch a surreptitious and swift operation to occupy several houses,
disarm the heavily armed individuals hidden there and in the
neighborhood to save the child and restore law.
Everybody followed that story. Day in and day out.
But practically nobody knew that, at the very same time, in exactly
the same place, Miami, five other young Cubans were arbitrarily deprived
of their freedom and subjected to a gross miscarriage of justice.
Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González
and René González were detained in the early hours of Saturday September
12th, 1998, and locked for the next 17 months in punishment cells, in
solitary confinement.
Accusation
The main accusation against them, as recognized by the prosecutors
and the judge from their indictment to the last day of the trial, was
that they had peacefully, with no weapons, penetrated anti-Cuban
terrorist groups with a view of reporting back to Cuba about their
criminal plans.
Was it conceivable to have a fair trial in Miami for any Cuban
revolutionary facing such an accusation? Could that happen while the
kidnapping of Elian was going on with its surrounding atmosphere of
violence, hatred and fear?
According to the prosecution it was perfectly possible. In their
words Miami was ‘a very large, diverse, heterogeneous community’,
capable of handling any sensitive issue, even those involving the Cuban
Revolution. The prosecutors repeated that line when rejecting the more
than ten motions presented by the defense lawyers requesting a change of
venue before the start of the trial.
The same Government that was obligated to deal with Miami as a sort
of rebel city and to secretly send there its forces to restore legality,
lied repeatedly about the venue issue, denying the defendants a right so
cherished by Americans, and refused to move the proceedings to the
neighbouring city of Fort Lauderdale, half an hour away from Miami.
Fidel Castro with Elian González |
Ironically, a few years later, in 2002, when the Government was the
object of a civilian complaint of an administrative nature, of far
lesser significance, later resolved by an out of Court settlement, and
only indirectly related to the Elian case, they asked for a change of
venue to Fort Lauderdale, affirming that ‘anything related to Cuba’, was
impossible to get a fair trial in Miami. (Ramírez vs. Ashcroft, 01-4835
Civ-Huck, June 25, 2002).
Such a flagrant contradiction, a clear proof of prosecutorial
misconduct, of real prevarication, was one of the main factors leading
to the unanimous decision of the Court of Appeals panel, in 2005, to
vacate the convictions of the Five and order a new trial. (Court of
Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, No. 01-17176, 03-11087).
That historic decision was later reversed by the majority of the
entire Court under pressure from Attorney General Alberto González in an
action that went contrary to the normal US legal practice. Mr.
González’s successful move, a manifestation of his peculiar legal
philosophy, foreclosed the possibility of a just resolution of this case
in a manner that would have honored the United States.
War against Cuba
The panel decision, an exceptionally sound and solid 93 pages
document, including irrefutable facts about the half century old
terrorist war against Cuba, remains an outstanding moment in the best
American tradition and will continue to be a text to be analyzed with
respect by scholars and law school students.
But that’s another chapter in the long saga of the Cuban Five.
Elián González now is about to finish high school and continues to
attract the attention of foreign media and visitors who keep going to
Cardenas, the beautiful town where he lives. When traveling towards
Elian’s home they will be surprised by billboards demanding freedom for
five youngsters they never heard off before.
In Leonard Weinglass’s words:
“The trial was kept secret by the American media. It is inconceivable
that the longest trial in the United States at the time it was taking
place was only covered by the local Miami press, particularly where
generals and an admiral as well as a White House advisor were all called
to testify for the defense. Where was the American media for six months?
Not only was this the longest trial, but it was the one case involving
mayor issues of foreign policy and international terrorism.
The question should be directed to the American media, with continues
to refuse to cover a case with such gross violations of fundamental
rights, and even violations of human rights of prisoner”. (Response by
Leonard Weinglass in the forum organized by www.antiterroristas.cu on
September 12, 2003).
Elian was saved because Americans knew about his case and got
involved and made justice prevail. The Five are still incarcerated - it
will be 11 years next September - victims of a terrible injustice,
because Americans are not permitted to know.
The Five are being cruelly punished because they fought against
terrorism. They are heroes. But forbidden heroes.
Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada President of the National Assembly of
People’s Power |