Havana, December 17 (RHC)-- The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel, led the commemorative act on Tuesday for the tenth anniversary of the return to the island of the Cuban Five -- anti-terrorist fighters who were imprisoned in the United States in September 1998.

During the ceremony, it was recalled that in 2001 the historical leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz (1926-2016), promised the Cuban people that Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, René González and Fernando González would return to their homeland, and an international movement of solidarity characterized the fight for their return.

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez described the return of the Five as a victory for the Cuban people and international solidarity.  “It was a long and ardent global battle for their liberation,” he said.

One of the heroes, Gerardo Hernandez, thanked the world for its solidarity, especially the “Cuban people who did not abandon us.”  Gerardo He also paid special tribute to the “anonymous heroes, those who did what we did, those who do it now and those who will do it in the future,” he emphasized.

He stressed the commitment of the Five "to this immense Homeland, to the ideas of Fidel, Raúl and Díaz-Canel."

On December 17, 2014, the then president of Cuba, Raúl Castro, announced the return of the Five and the beginning of a process of normalization of diplomatic relations with the United States as part of a new path in bilateral ties.

In an official ceremony the following year, they were awarded the distinction of Heroes of the Republic of Cuba after some 16 years of imprisonment. 

(Sources: Prensa Latina and @PresidenciaCuba)