HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- JUSTICE FOR THE MIAMI
5!
FREE THE CUBAN
PATRIOTS!
JAIL THE GUSANO
TERRORISTS!!
----- Original Message -----
From: Walter
Lippmann
Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2001 9:24 PM
Subject: [CubaNews] 5th Miami defendant gets "life" to the court shortly, and we will send it out as soon as we receive it. The first stage of the legal lynching of the five Cuban intelligence officers is now complete. They will, of course, appeal these grotesque sentences, but we can be sure that their fate won't ultimately be settled in the courts, but rather in the relationships between Cuba and the United States. In other words, politically, between the US and Cuba. Everyone who is in solidarity with Cuba should do what they can now to get out the truth about the miscarriage of justice which has just now concluded in Florida. Support for the appeals is needed. In the first place, getting out the facts about the case and the statements made by the defendants in the courtroom. Meetings in support of the Miami Five have already been held, and have laid positive foundation for further activities. d ============================== Cuban agent who infiltrated U.S. base gets life By Brian Bandell MIAMI, Dec 27 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge sentenced a Cuban agent who infiltrated a Florida military base to life in prison on Thursday, the last of five convicted members of a Cuban spy ring known as "The Wasp Network" to be sentenced. Antonio Guerrero, 43, was found guilty in June of conspiracy to commit espionage for using his positions in various menial jobs at Boca Chica Naval Air Station in the Florida Keys to pass the Cuban government information about U.S. military activities. In Cuba, the plight of Guerrero and the other agents has sparked outrage from Cuban President Fidel Castro, who has called them heroes and promised to bring them home. Guerrero, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in 1998 along with four other members of the Cuban spy ring known as La Red Avispa, or The Wasp Network. He is the third to be sentenced to life in prison. Poised, soft-spoken and defiant, Guerrero accused the United States of promoting terrorism against Cuba and likened his actions to those of American agents fighting terrorism in Afghanistan. "My country has the inalienable right, as does every other country, to defend itself from terrorist acts," said Guerrero, citing the Bay of Pigs invasion, assassination plots against Castro and the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba as terrorist acts. Guerrero was stone-faced when his sentence was read. He waved goodbye to his family as guards led him away. Trained in the Soviet Union as a civil engineer, Guerrero drew a blueprint of buildings at the Boca Chica base that the U.S. military planned to use to store classified information. Guerrero's mother and several supporters carrying a book of poetry he wrote from behind bars were in attendance at the sentencing hearing. Jack Blumenfeld, his lawyer, and Maggie Becker, his former girl friend, read several of his poems to the court before the sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Caroline Miller called Guerrero's argument that he was fighting terrorism "hollow" and "hypocritical" because there were no terrorist activities at the U.S. military base he was watching. WOULD REPEAT ACTIONS She called for the life sentence, pointing to Guerrero's statement in court that, given the chance, he would repeat his actions all over again "with honor." "The perceived terrorist acts against the government of Cuba do not legitimize his actions in violation of the law," U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard said. The five Cubans were convicted of spying-related offenses in June following a lengthy trial. They admitted to working as agents for Castro's government but denied the charges. Gerardo Hernandez, the alleged ring-leader of the spy group, was sentenced to life in prison two weeks ago for his role in the spy ring and for conspiracy to commit murder in ???tack by Cuban MiG fighters on two Cuban exile planes more than five years ago. The unarmed civilian aircraft, flown by the Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue, were destroyed over the Florida Straits in Feb. 1996, killing four Miami men. Their deaths sparked international outrage and further chilled hostile relations between Cuba and the United States. Blumenfeld, who expected Lenard to sentence Guerrero to life, said he will appeal the ruling by challenging the fairness of having the trial in Miami, home to tens of thousands of Cuban exiles who oppose Castro's communist government. 19:30 12-27-01 ================================= Cuban Spy Gets Life Sentence By CATHERINE WILSON .c The Associated Press MIAMI (AP) - A Cuban spy who dug ditches and fixed vents for six years while counting planes at a Navy base in the Florida Keys received a life prison sentence Thursday. Antonio Guerrero was one of 14 secret agents allegedly assigned by Havana to infiltrate U.S. military bases and exile groups in south Florida. Although none of the agents got any U.S. secrets, U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard said Guerrero's ``illegal activities were for the sole purpose of obtaining national security information.'' Guerrero is the last of five agents to be sentenced following a six-month trial. The others received prison terms ranging from 10 years to life for espionage conspiracy and lesser counts. The remaining accused spies have entered pleas or are believed to have fled to Cuba. Guerrero worked to warn Havana about signs of a U.S. invasion of Cuba. He reported on military flights, aircraft and changes of command at Key West Naval Air Station. In a 15-minute speech before sentencing, Guerrero, 43, a U.S. citizen who was born in Miami, rejected the verdict as ``sacrilege'' from ``a jury incapable of handing down justice.'' In speeches at their sentencing hearings, the other agents have defended their espionage as a fight against terrorist attacks they claim have been committed by Miami exiles in Havana. Guerrero ``is a patriot, a patriot for a country that we don't agree with,'' said his attorney, Jack Blumenfeld. ``He served his people.'' But prosecutor Caroline Miller said the case ``is not about people having the right to love Cuba.'' ``He is firmly committed to the interests of a foreign nation, no matter what it takes, no matter what laws of the United States he breaks,'' she said. AP-NY-12-27-01 1906EST -- ========================== Walter Lippmann [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.walterlippmann.com ========================== To subscribe to CubaNews, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://TOPICA.COM/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================ |
