The evening was supposed to be one of solidarity to help free the Cuban Five. From the first appearance of communist/socialist pamphlets at the door to rousing speeches in support of Cuban politics, it quickly became apparent that the issue at stake was much more than simple justice.
The talk, held on Sept. 29 at OISE, featured not only speeches but also poetry and dance. The highlight of the evening was a speech by Dr. Aleida Guevara March, the daughter of Cuban hero Ché Guevara.
It was all intended to throw support behind five Cubans who have been imprisoned in the United States. Sent to Florida to investigate the actions of anti-Cuban terrorist groups, the five used public documents to gather information about future attacks. In September 1998 all were arrested on counts of conspiracy to commit espionage. Three of them were handed life sentences.
Juan Carranza, from the Lawyer’s Committee for the Anti-terrorist Cuban Five, stressed that the charges were ‘trumped up’ and that the FBI had no real evidence against the five. Irma González, the daughter of one of the Cuban Five also protested that, “[The Cuban Five] went not only to save Cuban lives but also human lives.”
March pointed to ongoing U.S. animosity towards Cuba as the root of the unfair incarceration of the five. She spoke against the U.S. war on terrorism, highlighting the existence of several Miami-based terrorist groups. The groups, which are dedicated to the persecution of Cuba, have received little dissuasion from the U.S. government. Said March, “These are the real terrorists…There is no shame with the U.S. government.”
According to Carranza, in the past 40 years 3,000 people have been killed in Cuba due to terrorist activity, much of it backed by the U.S. government. The CIA has also been responsible for crushing the sugar cane and pig meat industries in Cuba through underhanded operations.
March attributes these actions to “Fear that the example of Cuba could be multiplied throughout Latin America.” She added later, “Cuba is a dangerous example…it has shown that another world is possible.” March condemned the US for its desire to maintain unequal economic negotiations with poorer nations and praised Cuba for its ability to take a stance against the American superpower.
In her conclusion, March declared “We ask that they [the US] treat these men as what they are, true heroes of the Cuban people.” The crowd, largely middle-aged, met March’s statements with rallying cries and thunderous applause. One student from George Brown described the speech as “extremely empowering.”
The panel then entertained numerous questions from the audience. March spoke at length, recommending that university students read the texts of her father, Ché Guevara. She also dismissed suggestions that Cuba would fall following the death of Fidel Castro. March pointed to the strength of the Cuban people as the source of Cuba’s survival as a communist state in the face of a largely capitalist world.
