By Gabriel Dávalos

At an open tribunal held Tuesday at Havana’s Flag Memorial amphitheater, young Cubans condemned the injustice committed against the Cuban Five, imprisoned in the United States, and demanded their immediate release.

"Cuba’s youth recognizes the heroic conduct of the Five throughout a decade of imprisonment and supports the dignified attitude of their families," said Luis Morlotte Rivas, national president of the Hermanos Saíz Association, reading a statement from the country’s youth organizations.

The message also condemned the decision to return three of the five cases to the same place where the initial trial never should have been held, Miami, at a time when the U.S. government continues its machinations to protect the well-known terrorist Luis Posada Carriles.

Antonio Guerrero Cabrera, son of one of the Cuban Five, described the judicial process as hypocritical and manipulative and reiterated that this is a reflection of the anti-Cuban Miami mafia’s hate and rancor for the Cuban people. Nevertheless, he said, the world is raising its voice for the liberation of the Five because the truth must overcome. Joining the call was Diana Lidia Fuentes, granddaughter of Miguel Espinosa, copilot of the Cuban aircraft that was blown up in mid-flight over Barbados almost 32 years ago, a brutal crime perpetuated by Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch, who remain unpunished.

The well-known actress Isabel Santos emphasized the necessity of remaining united in the struggle without pause, with the conviction that sooner or later the Five will return.

Also attending were Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, member of the Political Bureau of the Cuban Communist Party; Fernando Remírez de Estenoz, member of the Central Committee Secretariat; Felipe Pérez Roque, foreign minister; Rolando Alfonso Borges, head of the party’s ideological department; and Julio Martínez Ramírez, first secretary of the Union of Young Communists.