Photos: Panchito González, Prensa Latina
Havana, December 18 (RHC / Prensa Latina)-- Cubans, Americans and people of other nationalities celebrated in Havana the 10th anniversary of the return to Cuba of the Five Heroes, after serving long, unjust sentences for defending their country from terrorism.
The political-cultural event, led by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, praised the firmness and loyalty of Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, René González and Fernando González, known as The Five, in the face of their long prison sentences imposed by a court in the U.S. state of Florida.
Speaking at the meeting, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez recalled that in the face of such injustice, the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, led the battle that began in 2001 for the liberation of these Cubans, and predicted its success with one word: "Volveran" (They will return).
Rodriguez described the return of the Five in 2014 as a momentous event, for which the mobilization of the entire people, international solidarity, as well as the resistance, fighting spirit and moral integrity of these men and their families were decisive.
He especially thanked the team of defense lawyers, mainly Cuban and U.S., for their work, and the solidarity movements, religious organizations, governments, parliaments, political forces and personalities from around the world who made this cause their own.
"The presence of the Five here confirms that no matter how difficult the difficulties, resistance and faith in victory are essential for the triumph of justice," Bruno Rodriguez said.
On behalf of the Five, Gerardo Hernández expressed gratitude to those who contributed to their release and return to Cuba, and stressed that Fidel Castro had assured that they would return and that Army General Raúl Castro, then president of the nation, fulfilled his promise on December 17, 2014.
He also recognized those who, from anonymity, “fought, are fighting and will continue to fight” for the right of their people to defend themselves, as long as the perverse aggressive policy and the interest in harming the Revolution remain.
Gloria La Riva and Graciela Ramírez, coordinators of the first National Committee for the Liberation of the Five created in the United States, and of the then International Committee for that cause, now converted into the International Committee for Peace, Justice and Dignity of the Peoples, respectively, spoke in similar terms.
Both activists called for international solidarity to achieve the lifting of the blockade policy that the United States has imposed on Cuba for more than six decades and the exclusion of this country from the State Department's unilateral list of countries that supposedly sponsor terrorism.
They also called for solidarity from good people around the world with Cuba, in its battle to preserve sovereignty, independence and the inalienable right to promote its development model without external interference.
