Havana, December 9 (RHC)-- Young people and personalities close to the lives of the five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters who served severe sentences in U.S. prisons commemorated Thursday the eighth anniversary of their return to the country.

The Higher Institute of International Relations (ISRI), where two of them studied, hosted the meeting. On the occasion, a film with part of the testimonies of those who lived through this difficult process with Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Rene Gonzalez, and Fernando Gonzalez was presented.

In addition to their relatives and ISRI students, the event was attended by the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Anayansi Rodríguez; and the director of the Center for International Policy Research, José Ramón Cabañas.

Also present was diplomat José Anselmo López, who was the first to visit the Cuban anti-terrorists, known as the Cuban Five when they were in prison.

In a pleasant atmosphere for the dialogue, they recounted details about their experiences in prison, while announcing the publication of a book that gathers these anecdotes from a humanist vision with traces of humor.

Cabañas, the author of the initiative, commented that the volume had the support of many people, not only from Cuba, but also from other countries, and considered that this is a story that should always be talked about.

For his part, Gerardo Hernández expressed his gratitude for the compilation and described the visit of Cuban diplomats to the prison as historic.

The prison is an infamous and inhospitable place, those meetings were our time of Cuban citizenship, I was very impressed by Josefina Vidal's visit, her presence showed signs that this could be the beginning of the end, said Ramón Labañino.

The stories were also told by René González, who thanked Graciela Ramírez, Argentine journalist and activist of solidarity groups in favor of the Five's release.

These confessions are moving and engaging, those were hard and unforgettable moments, the trial was an experience that forced us to grow, those were moments in which one decides not to give up, he argued.

Antonio Guerrero said that the values and conduct they learned in Cuba helped them overcome this difficult time, and recalled that during those long years they never doubted that the Cuban people and government were with them, under the guidance of the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro.

Willing to preserve security in their Homeland, the five began a covert struggle on U.S. soil that would thwart the plans of numerous criminal organizations in their attempt to destabilize the island through violent acts.

Their return home after more than 16 years of unjust imprisonment meant another victory for the Cuban Revolution, while strengthening the people's confidence in their leader Fidel Castro, as his historic promise was fulfilled: "I only tell you one thing: They will return!