Havana, December 17 (RHC)-- Cuba recalled Tuesday the return on December 17, 2014, of three of the five anti-terrorist fighters imprisoned in U.S. prisons, as predicted by the leader Fidel Castro when he said: "They will return!" -- during a rally held on June 23, 2001, in the municipality of Cotorro.
More than ten years later, the prediction materialized, after a great campaign of solidarity inside and outside Cuba with the cause of the Five, as Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González, and René González are known internationally.
The Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), hosted a celebration on the occasion. In attendance were the five heroes of the Republic of Cuba, their relatives, and friends from other nations who participated in the historic world campaign demanding their release.
Gerardo Hernandez voiced appreciation on behalf of the Five to those who worked in Cuba and around the world for their release. Top on the acknowledgment was Fidel Castro.
After thanking Raul Castro and the Cuban people for all their efforts, he ratified the Five's loyalty to Fidel, to the Revolution. Raul, Diaz Canel, and the Cuban people.
The first of the Five to return to Cuba was René González in 2013, Fernando González in February 2014, and the remaining three: Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino and Antonio Guerrero were released on December 17, 2014, thanks to a humanitarian agreement reached between the governments of the United States and Cuba.
During the years of imprisonment in the United States, condemned to unfair and excessive sentences in rigged trials, the Cuban anti-terrorists suffered numerous human rights violations.
The injustice surrounding their case provoked indignation. It also generated a high tide of international support led by a massive campaign that began in Cuba to demand their return.