Twenty Guatemalans graduated today with bachelor''s degrees in History, and dedicated their graduation ceremony to the efforts to free the Cubans being held prisoner in the United States for nearly 16 years.

Professors from the School of Philosophy and History at the University of Havana have been coming here since 2007 to teach the history courses.

Mayra Godoy, one of the graduates, recalled that Gerardo Hernandez, Antonio Guerrero, Ramon Labañino, Rene Gonzalez and Fernando Gonzalez were arrested in September 1998 in the United States, and after a trial held in Miami, were condemned to unjust and disproportionately long sentences.

Godoy spoke out on the occasion of the third annual solidarity campaign "Five Days for the Cuban Five in Washington DC," taking place from June 4 to 11 in that city. Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez have completed their prison sentences and returned to Cuba, however, Hernandez, Labañino, and Guerrero still remain in U.S. prisons.

The president of the Guillermo Toriello Foundation, Lin Valenzuela, expressed gratitude for the solidarity shown by Cuba to educate the students, while urging the graduates to put their knowledge of history in practice through a commitment to restore the history of the Guatemalan people.

During the ceremony held at the Institute of Anthropology and History of Guatemala, the work by Guatemalans and Cubans on this educational project was recognized.