On 12 September 1998, eight men and two women were arrested in Miami on suspicion of being Cuban spies (CNN 13 Sept. 1998; El Nuevo Herald 17 Sept. 1998). Another four individuals, also believed to be members of the spy ring, successfully eluded capture and were presumed to have returned to Cuba (Sun-Sentinel 1 Sept. 2000). While five of those arrested subsequently agreed to cooperate with the authorities in return for reduced penalties (ibid.), the other suspects, namely Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, René González and Fernando González, known collectively as the Cuban Five (National Committee to Free the Five n.d.), were brought to trial in December 2000 (Yahoo! News 6 Dec. 2000). All five were convicted on 8 June 2001 (The Washington Post 9 June 2001), and given sentences in December 2001 that ranged from ten years to life imprisonment (ibid. 28 Dec. 2001; Yahoo! News 27 Dec. 2001; BBC 13 Dec. 2001). Defence lawyers acting for the men filed appeals on their behalf in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in April 2003 (MSNBC 20 Nov. 2003). The five remained in prison as recently as November 2003 (ibid.).

No mention of a campaign, demonstrations or other public events organized by the Cuban authorities in 1999 in support of the Cuban Five could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

However, on 20 June 2001, Cuban President Fidel Castro reportedly launched a national mobilization campaign against the guilty verdict (NewsMax.com 24 Sept. 2001). As part of the campaign, Fidel's brother Raúl Castro led an estimated 50,000 people at a rally demanding the men's release (Miami Herald 2 July 2001). The Miami Herald characterized the demonstration as "part of an escalating 'free the five' campaign ... reminiscent of the Elián González days" (ibid.). Numerous reports published since July 2001 refer to measures taken by the Cuban authorities to show support for the Cuban Five (UPI 2 Jan. 2002; BBC 13 Dec. 2001; Cuba Nueva 14 Dec. 2001; MSNBC 20 Nov. 2003). These efforts included plastering posters bearing the men's faces in public locales (CubaNet 27 July 2001; Cuba Nueva 14 Dec. 2001); distributing teeshirts emblazoned with pictures of the Cuban Five (ibid.); implementing a media campaign in support of the men's return to Cuba (ibid.); naming the five men to the Order of the Hero of the Republic (orden de Héroe de la República) (Cuba Nueva 31 Dec. 2001; Miami Herald 1 Jan. 2002); officially proclaiming 2002 as the "Year of the Heroic Prisoners of the Empire" (ibid.); and mobilizing "millions of Cubans for 'Free the Five' rallies" (UPI 2 Jan. 2002). The information provided by UPI corroborated a 13 December 2001 BBC report which claimed that the government had organized "huge political rallies around the country" in support of the five men.

No mention of individuals being required to attend meetings at their workplace in connection with the campaign in support of the Cuban Five could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

BBC. 13 December 2001. "Cuba Denounces US Spying Sentence." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1708095.stm [Accessed 21 Nov. 2003]

CNN. 13 September 1998. "Arrestan en Miami a 10 supuestos espías cubanos." (CubaNet 15 Sept. 1998) http://www.cubanet.org/search.html [Accessed 21 Nov. 2003]

Cuba Nueva [Barcelona]. 31 December 2001. "Parlamento cubano denomina a 2002 'Año de los héroes prisioneros del imperio.'" (CubaNet 31 Dec. 2001) http://www.cubanet.org/search.html [Accessed 21 Nov. 2003]

_____. 14 December 2001. "Régimen de Castro intensifica campaña por libertad para acusados de espionaje en EEUU." (CubaNet 14 Dec. 2001) http://www.cubanet.org/search.html [Accessed 21 Nov. 2003]

CubaNet. 27 July 2001. José Antonio Fornaris. "¿Quién dijo que se fueron?" http://www.cubanet.org/search.html [Accessed 21 Nov. 2003]

Miami Herald. 1 January 2002. Anita Snow. "Cuba Promises Fight for Return of Five Miami Spies." (CubaNet 2 Jan. 2002) http://www.cubanet.org/search.html [Accessed 21 Nov. 2003]

_____. 2 July 2001. Luisa Yanez. "Cuban Spies Put in Prison 'Hole'." (CubaNet 2 July 2003) http://www.cubanet.org/search.html [Accessed 21 Nov. 2003]

MSNBC. 20 November 2003. Anthony Boadle. "Wives of Cuban Spies Jailed in U.S. Want to See Them." http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters11-20-140336.asp?reg=AMERICAS [Accessed 20 Nov. 2003]

National Committee to Free the Five, San Francisco. n.d. "Who Are the Five?" http://www.freethefive.org/whoare.cfm [Accessed 24 Nov. 2003]

NewsMax.com [West Palm Beach, Fla.]. 24 September 2001. Ernesto F. Betancourt. "Background on Arrest of Castro's Pentagon Spy." (CubaNet 25 Sept. 2001) http://www.cubanet.org/search.html [Accessed 21 Nov. 2003]

El Nuevo Herald [Miami]. 17 September 1998. Rui Ferreira. "Espías planeaban sabotajes en Florida." (CubaNet 17 Sept. 1998) http://www.cubanet.org/search.html [Accessed 21 Nov. 2003]

Sun-Sentinel [Fort Lauderdale, Fla.]. 1 September 2000. Vanessa Bauzá. "Spy Case Defense Targets Cuban Exiles in Miami." (CubaNet 1 Sept. 2000) http://www.cubanet.org/search.html [Accessed 21 Nov. 2003]

United Press International (UPI). 2 January 2002. "Cuban Outrage over Spy Trial Continues." (CubaNet 3 Jan. 2002) http://www.cubanet.org/search.html [Accessed 21 Nov. 2003]

The Washington Post. 28 December 2001. "Cuban Gets Life Term for Spying." http://ciponline.org/cuba/CubanFive.htm [Accessed 21 Nov. 2003]

_____. 9 June 2001. Sue Anne Pressley. "Five Cuban Agents Guilty of Spying on U.S." http://ciponline.org/cuba/CubanFive.htm [Accessed 21 Nov. 2003]

Yahoo! News. 27 December 2001. "El quinto cubano acusado por Estados Unidos de espiar para La Habana conocerá hoy su sentencia." (CubaNet 27 Dec. 2001) http://www.cubanet.org/search.html [Accessed 21 Nov. 2003]

_____. 6 December 2000. Catherine Wilson. "Cuba Spy Trial Opens in Miami." (CubaNet 27 Dec. 2001) http://www.cubanet.org/search.html [Accessed 6 Dec. 2000]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB databases

National Committee to Free the Five, San Francisco

Unsuccessful attempts to contact the Toronto Cuban Five Committee

Internet sites, including:

Antiterroristas

BBC

Center for International Policy (CIP)

CubaNet. 1998-2003

Granma [Havana]