Cuban five background

[Bacchus39]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/world/americas/05cuba.html?fta=y

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The five men were among 10 Cuban immigrants arrested in September 1998 and accused of being part of a spy ring called the Wasp Network. Four others were indicted but never apprehended. Prosecutors presented evidence that the network had infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue and other militant exile groups in Miami. Some were also accused of seeking United States military intelligence.

Half of the arrested men pleaded guilty, but the famed remainder stood trial in Miami after a Federal District judge, Joan A. Lenard, denied a motion to move the proceedings to another venue. In June 2001, a federal jury in Miami convicted them. No Cuban-Americans were on the jury.

All five — Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, René González and Fernando González — were convicted of acting as unregistered foreign agents and conspiracy to commit crimes against the United States.Three were also convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage, on the strength of evidence that they had gathered information on military activity at a naval air station in Key West. In addition, Mr. Hernández was convicted of conspiracy to murder in connection with the deaths of four Cuban exiles whose two light aircraft were shot down by the Cuban Air Force over the Straits of Florida in 1996.

Judge Lenard threw the book at them. Mr. Guerrero and Mr. Labañino were sentenced to life in prison. Fernando González was sentenced to 19 years, and René González to 15 years. (They are not related.) Mr. Hernández was sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

Since their convictions, the five have been on a legal roller coaster. In August 2005, a three-judge federal appellate panel in Atlanta threw out the verdicts, saying the defendants could not receive a fair jury trial in Miami because of anti-Castro bias among the exiles. Two months later, a majority of the 11th Circuit reinstated the convictions but agreed to hear an appeal on the sufficiency of the evidence, among other issues.

Meanwhile, the “five heroes” have become the biggest propaganda tool that the one-party, Communist government of Cuba has come up with since Che Guevara. Their names and faces appear on walls and signs all over Cuba, with the word “volverán,” meaning “they will return.” Cuban officials never fail to mention them as heroes in official speeches and ceremonies.

[Bacchus39]

1. more

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1708095.stm

The five men - three Cuban intelligence officers and two US citizens - acknowledged before the trial began that they were acting on orders from the Cuban Government.

[IggyReed]

2. Hey Bacchus39...

If the Cuban Five can be arrested for what they did, are you in favor of the exact same treatment being shown to our paid operatives and collaborators in Venezuela, Haiti, Bolivia, etc? If intelligence gathering against groups who’ve committed terrorist acts against their country (which they have, with protection from people like the Bush familiy) is grounds for being arrested, what should happen to people on the US’ payroll who COMMIT terrorism against the “enemies” of the US government? Like, what should happen to the scum in Venezuela who attempted to install a dictatorship and dissolved all branches of the democratic government there? Would you claim that is not any worse than the “crimes” of the Cuban Five?

I know, when it’s an “enemy” people like you have a different set of standards, which is logically indefensible.

[Bacchus39]

3. well let's see.

"If the Cuban Five can be arrested for what they did..."

they were not only arrested, they were convicted by a jury.



"are you in favor of the exact same treatment being shown to our paid operatives and collaborators in Venezuela, Haiti, Bolivia, etc?"


give me a parallel example from those countries. the 5 were sent by Castro to spy.



"Like, what should happen to the scum in Venezuela who attempted to install a dictatorship and dissolved all branches of the democratic government there?"

the scum in Venezuela who has attempted to install a dictatorship and dissolve all branches of democratic government is known as Hugo Chavez.



Question for you? what do you think should happen to the Cuban 5 given they have been convicted by a jury???