Antonio Guerrero, one of five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters condemned to unjust prison sentences in the United States despite their fight against terrorism, sent thanks for the words of love, solidarity, and encouragement he had received on his 55th birthday.
Guerrero sent a note from Marianna prison, in south Florida, saying "It's noon on Oct. 16. So many birthday greetings are coming in."

"With these few lines, I would like to try to show my gratitude to everyone for such beautiful words of love, solidarity, and encouragement. My son Gabriel is 21 today," Guerrero stressed in the text, to which Prensa Latina had access.

He also recalled that coincidentally, old friends from the airport in Santiago de Cuba, where he worked as airfield construction engineer after graduating in 1983, also celebrated his birthday this October 16.

On September 12, 1998, Guerrero Rodriguez was arrested in Miami, along with Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino Salazar, Fernando Gonzalez Llort, and Rene Gonzalez Sehwerert. The latter has been the only one of the men to be released from prison after completing his sentence.

Convicted in 2001 in Miami to life plus 10 years as a result of a rigged trial held there, Guerrero's sentence was reduced on October 13, 2009 to 21 years plus 10 months in prison, and another five years of supervised release.

The Five, as they are known internationally, monitored violent plans by rightwing Cuban-American groups, whose terrorist actions have left more than 5,000 dead or permanently disabled people on the Caribbean island over the last 50 years.