letter of october to Obama.

Mr President Obama

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.

Washington DC 20500

USA

Mr President,

It’s been more than fifteen years since the F.B.I. arrested in Miami the members of the Avispa network, among them Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González, Ramón Labañino, and René González, known as “The Cuban Five”. If René González has done his time, as for his four compatriots, they are still under lock and key!

On May 27th, 2005, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions of the Human Rights Commission at the U.N., declared that the detention of the Cuban Five was arbitrary and illegal, the trial not having taken place in a climate of objectivity and impartiality required by Article 14 of the International Convention of Civic and Political Rights. And yet, in 2005, this working group was not aware, at the time, that several reporters had been paid during the trial to create a climate of hate so as to influence the jury members, who were already well conditioned, to give heavy sentences to the Cubans.

On October 4th, 2010, it was Amnesty International’s turn to put into doubt the impartiality of the Cuban Five’s sentences in a letter addressed to Mr. Eric Holder, the Attorney General.

Three excellent books have already been published these last years on this lamentable history of the Cuban Five. The first one, in French, by Maurice Lemoine, “Cinq Cubains à Miami”, the second, in Spanish by Fernando Morais, “Los Ultimos Guerreros de la Guerra Fría”, and the third in English, by Stephan Kimber, “What Lies Across the Water – The Real Story of The Cuban Five”. Mr. President, you should read at least the book published in English. Stephan Kimber is Canadian, professor of journalism at the University of King’s College in Halifax.

It has now been more than three years that the Cubans have been waiting for Judge Lenard of the Miami Court to give his pronouncement on their demand for collateral appeals.

Martin Garbus, Gerardo Hernández’s new lawyer, presented more than a year ago a new affidavit, a document 82 pages long where he stigmatized the fact that the public prosecutor had minimized the impact of the reporter’s corruption. He demanded the Justice Department to do all it could so as “to have hope that such a thing would never happen again in the United States.”

Gerardo Hernandez is still waiting for the response to his demand for a hearing where he intends to prove the falsehood of the “intention to assassinate” charge for which he was condemned to spend the rest of his life in prison. The Court of Criminal Appeal that completely fraudulently made up this offence refuses to have the satellite images of the February 24th 1996 tragedy, for which Gerardo was so heavily condemned, released to the public.

How much longer, Mr President, are you going to give to the world this deplorable image of a justice system manipulated by executive power and corrupted by the Mafia gangs of Miami?

How much more time are Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González, and Ramón Labañino still going to wait on the pleasure of a judge from this state in which human and civil rights are not respected, a state named Florida, to finally recognize their innocence?

This scandal has been going on for too long; the ball is now in the political camp. You have got to give these courageous patriots, victims of a veritable conspiracy that is keeping them in prison, back their liberty. By accomplishing such a gesture, you will go down in the history of the United States and of Cuba. To have this political courage will do you credit.

Please receive, Mr President, the expression of my most sincere humanitarian sentiments.

Jacqueline Roussie

Translated by William Peterson

Copies sent to: Mrs. Michelle Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Kathryn Ruemmler, to Mr. Joe Biden, John F. Kerry, Rand Beers, Harry Reid, Eric Holder, Denis MacDonough, Pete Rouse, Rick Scott, and Charles Rivkin, United States Ambassador in France.