Mick Shaw, President (FBU), Miami 5 Vigil at US Embassy 2010

Mick Shaw, President of the FBU, speaking about the Miami 5.

The Miami Five are five Cubans unjustly imprisoned in the United States while trying to stop terrorist attacks against the Cuban people. They are Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and René González.

For more than 40 years, right wing Cuban exile groups based in Miami have killed almost 3,500 people in attacks against Cuba.

The US government repeatedly failed to act against the perpetrators of such crimes, including the blowing up of a Cuban airliner in 1973 (killing 76 people) and a bombing campaign against Cuban tourist hotels in the 1990s (killing an Italian tourist).

To save lives, Cuba sent five men to Miami to infiltrate and monitor the groups. At the request of the US government, this information was passed to the FBI in 1998. But instead of arresting the terrorists, the FBI used the information to identify the Five anti-terrorists who were arrested and charged with spying on September 12 1998. Their harsh sentences and denial of family visitation rights in prison have been internationally condemned by legal and human rights groups including Amnesty International.

Further info from: http://www.cuba-solidarity.org.uk/miami5/

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• Cuba Solidarity Campaign
• Miami 5
• Cuba
• Mick Shaw
• FBU