Fernando, you are a hero not just to the Cuban people

After 15 years, you have finally been released from Federal Prison. It must be said at the outset that you are a hero, not just to the Cuban people but to all truly revolutionary people around the world. You exemplify the internationalist sacrifices made by the Cuban revolution perfectly. As one of over three hundred thousand Cubans who fought the racist apartheid regime attempting to undermine Angola’s independence you served in the crucial years 1987-1989 helping, along with the Angolan armed forces, SWAPO and theANC to decisively defeat the racist soldiers of South Africa, forcing the freedom of Namibia and hastening the end of Apartheid.

Photo: Fernando in Angola

When Revolutionary Cuba was in the depths of “special period” of extreme hardship, and under vicious attack by CIA-sponsored terrorists, determined to destroy Cuba’s revolutionary government, you again served. You travelled to the United States to expose the nest of killers living primarily in Miami. Arrested along with other Cubans on similar missions, you were smeared by the U.S. government as a spy in an attempt to hide its complicity in terrible crimes committed against the Cuban people.

Fernando, we at the Party for Socialism and Liberation salute you for your heroism in the face of reactionary forces hell-bent on subverting the progress of humanity. We applaud your courage and dedication, remaining stalwart for all these years. And we decry the absolutely unjust term of imprisonment you suffered that also afflicted your strong and equally heroic family members. . . .  We pledge to continue the fight to free your three comrades who remain trapped in U.S. prisons simply for defending their own nation against terror!

JSC: Jamaicans in Solidarity with Cuba