Tag Archives: René González is in Cuba

Cuban Revolution, The Cuban Five

René González, speaks out after a 13-year imprisonment in the United States

In a Democracy Now! exclusive, the only freed member of the Cuban Five, René González, speaks out after a 13-year imprisonment in the United States. The five Cuban intelligence agents were arrested in the United States in 1998 and convicted of espionage. They say they were not spying on the United States, but rather trying to monitor violent right-wing Cuban exile groups responsible for attacks inside Cuba. In Cuba, the five are seen as national heroes. González was released in October 2011 and returned to Cuba in April. Joining us from Havana, González discusses why he came to the United States to spy on Cuban exiles, his arrest, and the four other members of the Cuban Five who remain in jail.

Jailed in the U.S. for espionage, the Cuban intelligence agents known as the Cuban Five say they were in fact monitoring violent right-wing Cuban exile groups, not spying on the United States. Ricardo Alarcón, Cuba’s former foreign minister and, up until earlier this year, president of the Cuban National Assembly, has been one of the Cuban Five’s most vocal supporters. Alarcón joins us from Havana to discuss the meetings between Cuban authorities and the FBI in Cuba and the threat posed by militant exiles. “If President Obama is really interested in [projecting] a more positive image of U.S. policy abroad, if he is interested in improving relations with Latin America, he better listen to what many governments in Latin America have been telling him: Simply, free the five,” Alarcón says.

Cuba - Social, The Cuban Five

René González converses with Cuban university students

rene_escuela

Dalia González Delgado

“AS the Marxist I am, I accept the historical fact that I will not see what I want to see. I think it’s only natural that a revolutionary never sees all that he desires, because if he did, at some point he would cease to be a revolutionary.”

Thus began decorated Hero of the Republic René González’ comments to delegates attending the 8th Congress of Cuba’s Federation of University Students (FEU).

“You will see some of the things I would like to see, but you must construct them,” he continued, “Although you honor me with your applause and appreciation, the honor is mine. In any case, the admiration, the respect, the affection are mutual.”

The anti-terrorist fighter answered questions posed by students and insisted on the need to study history profoundly, to be able to confront the current, complex world situation.

“Isolating ourselves from the world is not how we are going to do it. With current technologies, it is impossible to isolate oneself,” he said, “We know what happened in the socialist camp. To consolidate our victory, to make it sure, we must go deeper, seek the truth, the errors, look history in the face, because the construction of socialism is the work of imperfect people, the result of many disagreements amongst ourselves, of struggles between points of view, in a context in which capital holds sway.”

“We must understand why it is necessary that capitalism disappear as a system,” he added, “When you see abundance in a country, you need to understand where it comes from and why we are resisting.”

René called on the young people in attendance to read Karl Marx and Martí, who he described as, “Thinkers who profoundly understood the essence of these phenomena.”

He emphasized the importance of listening to all youth, without exception, saying, “You are the vanguard of youth, but there are many who must be approached. Go beyond the classroom and walk along G Street.”

“Some will never reach the university, but they are part of society. We cannot forget that many young people are not in school, but they produce wealth with their hands.”

“If you rise to the occasion and meet the challenges of the times in which you live, you will be doing the best you can for my imprisoned compañeros,” he concluded.

The gathering, which relatives of the Five also attended, additionally featured a tribute to Dr. Armando Hart Dávalos, director of the Martí Program Office and president of the José Martí Cultural Society, on the occasion of his birthday.

 

 

René González converses with Cuban university students

Cuban Revolution, The Cuban Five

René González has been given permission to remain in Cuba!

Originally posted by National Committee to Free the Cuban Five

René with his family in Cuba on a previous visit.
René with his family in Cuba on a previous visit.

In a huge development in the case of the Cuban Five, the court has finally granted a motion, first made last June, to allow René González to serve the remaining portion of his three-year parole in Cuba, after which he will of course be able to remain in Cuba, outside the jurisdiction of the court. Until this time, the court has required him to spend that parole at an undisclosed location in Florida, requiring him to remain in virtual seclusion because of the danger to his life from the very terrorists whose plots he and the other members of the Five came to the U.S. to expose.

René has been in Cuba for two weeks to attend a memorial service for his father Cándido, who died recently.

Phil Horowitz, Rene’s attorney, said: “Rene and I are happy that he will be able to be permanently reunited with his family. Rene’s exemplary conduct shows that these are not individuals that the government has made them out to be. We are just so happy and will take all the steps pursuant to the court order.”

The 7-page court order by Judge Joan Lenard (click to download), describes the requirements for his right to remain in Cuba. The principal requirement is that he renounce his citizenship, which he willingly offered to do previously (René held dual U.S.-Cuban citizenship). To renounce a U.S. citizenship, it must be done outside of the United States, as per U.S. federal code, Section 1481 a(5).

We are extremely happy for René, who has, along with his Cuban Five brothers, been unduly punished for being a proud defender of his people, his homeland and the Cuban Revolution.

This development must give all the Cuban Five supporters great inspiration to continue the fight so that Gerardo, Ramón, Antonio and Fernando can return home immediately!

Cuban Revolution, The Cuban Five

René González is in Cuba

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Reprinted from Prensa Latina

René González, one of the five anti-terrorist Cuban fighters unfairly given harsh prison sentences in the United States, arrived to Cuba on Friday on a family, private visit in the wake of authorization by a US judge to visit his gravely ill brother.

According to information released by the TV news program, René arrived minutes alter midday.

On February 24, René had filed through his lawyer an emergency motion before the South Florida District Court, requesting an authorization to visit his brother, seriously ill in Cuba.

Nearly a month later, on March 19, Judge Joan Lenard, who have been handling the case of The Cuban Five since the start of their proceedings, authorized the trip for 15 days under certain conditions, including obtaining all US government travel permits needed.

She also set as a prerequisite failing a detailed travel schedule, his location in Cuba and information of contact in the country, as well as a systematic phone contact with his probation officer.

The judge also made clear that all conditions of Rene’s supervised release remain unchanged and he has to go back to the United States as soon as the two weeks pass from the date of his trip.

After having suffered 13 years of unfair prison, René is under a supervised release regime for another three years during which he has to remain in the United States, which constitutes an additional sanction.

The decision of authorizing his trip is fully in line with conditions established for his supervised release, which allow him to travel to Cuba after an approval by the probation officer or the judge.

Even the US Government, which has opposed all motions filed by René to be allowed a permanent return to Cuba and his temporary visit to his brother, admitted that conditions of his supervised release do not prevent him from visiting our country.

In this regard, as of March 7, 2011, the Attorney General’s Office argued that the terms of Rene’s supervised release do not prevent him from traveling to Cuba during that period. “Nothing will prevent him from requesting his probation officer (or the court, if he was denied that by the former) a permit to travel to Cuba to visit his wife, his old parents or other relatives.”

In the motion filed by his lawyer, Rene said he would comply with the terms established for the visit and return to the United States.

Despite the terms imposed, our people, with deep respect, welcomes home our beloved René, and do not stop fighting for his final, permanent return home along with his four close brothers, says the press release.

René González, along with his comrades Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero and Fernando González, was detained in 1998 in the United States for monitoring Miami-based violent groups operating against Cuba.