A
Fabricated "Murder"
Ricardo
Alarcón de Quesada
A CubaNews translation.
Edited by Walter
Lippmann.
On February 24, 1996, a
lamentable event took
place in front of the
Malecón in Havana. Two
small planes belonging
to a terrorist group in
Miami were shot down by
anti-aircraft defenses
when they violated Cuban
national territory.
Dozens of similar
violations had taken
place that year and the
government had publicly
warned it would not
tolerate repetitions of
such actions.
The event greatly
increased tensions
between the United
States and Cuba and was
the subject of intense
debates within the
International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO)
and the UN Security
Council.
On May 7, 1999 -- more
than three years and two
months after the event--
the government of the
United States,
irresponsibly and
capriciously, used the
incident and turned it
into Count No. 3,
Conspiracy to Commit
Murder, against
Gerardo Hernández
Nordelo alone.
The proceedings against
the Five focused mostly
on this charge. To this
accusation the court
devoted most of its
sessions, experts and
witnesses. Relatives of
the men who lost their
lives on February 24
were present every day
in the courtroom, made
public demonstrations,
and gave press
conferences right then
and there in front of
the members of the jury.
This issue was the focus
of the media campaign.
Thousands of articles
and comments were
produced about it for
the press, radio and
television.
Strangely, the media
paid great attention to
Count No. 3 even before
it existed. It can be
stated without a doubt
that the charge was the
result of a conspiracy
between the government
and the terrorist groups
responsible for the
event. In this
conspiracy, the
“journalists” paid by
the government had a
decisive role.
In September 1998, when
the FBI arrested the
Five, the US Attorney
pressed charges against
the accused. Count 3 was
not there, there was no
mention of aircraft
incidents, shot-down
planes or anything of
the sort. The accusation
against Gerardo was
added more than seven
months later when he and
his comrades were in
solitary confinement,
isolated from the world,
in their first visit to
“The Hole” that lasted
17 months.
An analysis of the Miami
press between September
1998 and May 1999 is
evidence of the previous
statement. We can find
many declarations by
leaders of terrorists
groups widely spread and
amplified by
“journalists”, asking
the government to add
the new allegation.
Among other things we
can read extensive
information on the
meetings between
prosecutors and
terrorists, from which
the “Second Superseding
Indictment” would emerge
to take the place of the
first and include Count
3.
A reading
of both documents from
the US Attorney would
make any self-respecting
journalist be surprised
and feel an obligation
to enquire. According to
these documents, the FBI
had managed to discover
who Gerardo Hernández
Nordelo was really, and
what he was doing in the
United States, at least
since 1994, more than
two years before the
1996 incident. They had
been able to decipher
his communications with
Havana; they knew what
he was doing and what he
was being instructed to
do. Thus, they did not
act against Gerardo and
his comrades, because
they knew his work was
not at all damaging to
the US or the American
people.
They also knew that
Gerardo had nothing to
do with the 1996 events.
In those days, there was
a great uproar, not only
in Miami, but also in
Washington. Bill
Clinton, the president
at the time, has written
that he had received
proposals even of a
military attack against
Cuba. The more
aggressive groups in
South Florida ranted
night and day, calling
for war. The complicity
of these groups with the
local FBI is well-known.
Can anyone believe they
would have done nothing
against “the culprit”
for the shooting down of
the planes? That they
would have done nothing
against him if they had
had him right there,
surveilled by the FBI,
in Miami?
And Cuba? None of the
communications between
Havana and Gerardo, in
the FBI's possession and
presented at the trial,
suggest that there was
even the slightest
concern about his safety
or the need to protect
him from the risks he
could face if he had had
any participation in the
incident. Gerardo
continued his work in
Miami for almost three
more years. He came to
Cuba for vacation and
nobody thought he should
stay here to protect his
life.
When he was arrested in
September 1998, he was
not charged with
anything related to the
1996 events simply
because the FBI knew, at
least since 1994, what
Gerardo was doing and
therefore knew he had
nothing to do with that
unfortunate incident.
However, in 1999 they
came up with the
unbelievable slander of
accusing him of first
degree murder – with
malice aforethought –
and they did this – the
FBI, that is, the
government– to satisfy
the wishes of the
terrorist mafia and
their lip-servicing
buddies in the media who
were also on the
government payroll.
So weak was the charge
that the US Attorney
understood later they
could not prove it and
asked to withdraw it.
This would have made
front page news in any
other case, but not in
the case against the
Five.
September 6, 2012
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