Washington, March 4 (RHC)-- The leader of the U.S. Baptist Alliance Carol Blythe urged U.S. President Barack Obama to release the three Cuban prisoners who are still serving unfair prison sentences for having monitored U.S.-based terrorist organizations.

In a letter addressed to the U.S. president, Blythe said that the release of Gerardo Hernandez, Antonio Guerrero and Ramon Labanino will contribute to the normalization of relations between Washington and Havana, according to Prensa Latina news agency.

The three men, along with their compatriots Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez -- who have returned to Cuba after serving their sentences -- were arrested September 12, 1998 and were given unfair and extremely long sentences for monitoring violent groups based in Florida, planning terrorist actions against Cuba.

Terrorist actions carried out against the island over the past five decades have resulted in over 3,400 victims, said the religious leader in her letter. She asked Barack Obama to pardon the three men after the many years they have already been in jail.

Carol Blythe recalled that during a recent trip to Cuba, members of the Baptist Alliance met with relatives of the five Cuban anti-terrorists and learned of the repeated refusals by U.S. authorities to grant visas to some family members to visit their relatives at least once a year, an action she described as inconsistent with the ideals of the United States.