By Roberto Jorquera
On June 8, a federal court in Miami convicted five Cuban citizens on espionage and murder charges. Three of them, Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino and Antonio Guerrero, were convicted of "conspiracy to commit espionage" and "conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent". The maximum penalty under US law is life imprisonment. Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez face the possibility of ten years imprisonment for "conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent".
Gerardo Hernandez also faces the possibility of another life sentence on charges of "conspiracy to commit murder", in relation to the deaths of four pilots from the right-wing group Brothers to the Rescue who were shot down by the Cuban air force in 1996. He is accused of providing advance information to the Cuban government about their repeated flights into Cuban airspace.
Terrorist attacks
Miami is home to several counter-revolutionary Cuban groups, some of which have, over the last four decades, been involved in organising terrorist attacks against Cuba. Recent attacks linked to the Cuban-American National Foundation have included hotel bombings and an assassination attempt on Cuban President Fidel Castro. The Cuban government has attempted to derail terrorist attacks by infiltrating the groups since US authorities largely turn a blind eye to their activities.
Not only are the sentences a further attack on the Cuban Revolution and Cuba's right to defend itself against foreign aggression, but it is also an indictment of the US justice system. In the period leading up to the convictions, the FBI several times ignored the Fourth Amendment which prohibits illegal searches and seizures. The FBI repeatedly broke into and searched the defendants' houses.
The court has ignored these allegations and also ignored requests for the trial to be held outside of Miami, which is dominated by Cubans opposed to the revolution. This was despite many of the jurors expressing fear of reprisals if they did not vote in favour of a conviction.
The Cuban government has strongly condemned the convictions and has resolved to prove their innocence. On June 20, the Cuban government proclaimed that the five were "declared guilty in a rigged and cynical trial for discharging their duty to inform our people of terrorist actions by the Cuban-American mob".
It further declared, "a rigged, prejudiced and misinformed jury, working under tremendous pressure brought on them by the authorities, the media and the poisoned and stinking atmosphere of Miami, have declared them guilty of grossly manipulated and deceitful charges. All sorts of outrages and humiliations have been practised against them, including punishment in solitary confinement cells for long periods of time. Three of them have spent up to 17 months there deprived of all contact with their immediate families."
