US Trade Union Member asks Obama to Free Cuban Five
Santos Crespo, a trade union leader in the United States, asked US President Barack Obama today to liberate the five Cuban fighters known as the Cuban Five, imprisoned in the U.S. for uncovering terrorist acts planned from the south of Florida against their native country.
The trade union leader requested in a letter to Obama that he make use of his constitutional prerogatives and put and end to the extensive sentences imposed on Gerardo Hernandez, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and Rene Gonzalez, known globally as The Cuban Five.
The letter was released by the International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban Five. The men were tracking extreme rightwing groups in Miami who were planning terrorist actions like the kind that have caused at least 3,400 fatalities over the last 53 years in Cuba.
Four of these men have been imprisoned since 1998, while René González completed his sentence on October 7, 2011 but was then forced to serve an additional punishment of three years parole in Florida.
Crespo reminded Obama that The Cuban Five came to the United States unarmed and without any intention of damaging the citizens or the security of the country.
He also alluded to the increasing campaign of the global labor movement in solidarity with the Cuban Five and to distributing information about their case.
The injustice committed against these men is well-known and an example of the difference between Obama administration and the one by our neighbors in the Southern Hemisphere,' he stressed.
Crespo said that allowing the Cuban Five to return to be with their families in Cuba would serve as an opportunity to normalize the connections between Washington and Havana on the basis of mutual respect and comprehension.
The majority of the people, even in Florida, want normalized relations with Cuba and improved relations with the countries of Latin America is important for his presidency. One small action that Obama might take to achieve this target is to begin by liberating the Cuban Five now,' he concluded.
With his letter, this Canadian intellectual and trade union leader joined the international solidarity campaign with the Cuban antiterrorists.
The trade union leader requested in a letter to Obama that he make use of his constitutional prerogatives and put and end to the extensive sentences imposed on Gerardo Hernandez, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and Rene Gonzalez, known globally as The Cuban Five.
The letter was released by the International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban Five. The men were tracking extreme rightwing groups in Miami who were planning terrorist actions like the kind that have caused at least 3,400 fatalities over the last 53 years in Cuba.
Four of these men have been imprisoned since 1998, while René González completed his sentence on October 7, 2011 but was then forced to serve an additional punishment of three years parole in Florida.
Crespo reminded Obama that The Cuban Five came to the United States unarmed and without any intention of damaging the citizens or the security of the country.
He also alluded to the increasing campaign of the global labor movement in solidarity with the Cuban Five and to distributing information about their case.
The injustice committed against these men is well-known and an example of the difference between Obama administration and the one by our neighbors in the Southern Hemisphere,' he stressed.
Crespo said that allowing the Cuban Five to return to be with their families in Cuba would serve as an opportunity to normalize the connections between Washington and Havana on the basis of mutual respect and comprehension.
The majority of the people, even in Florida, want normalized relations with Cuba and improved relations with the countries of Latin America is important for his presidency. One small action that Obama might take to achieve this target is to begin by liberating the Cuban Five now,' he concluded.
With his letter, this Canadian intellectual and trade union leader joined the international solidarity campaign with the Cuban antiterrorists.
Source:
Prensa Latina
Date:
03/05/2013