Dozens of Ecuadorians gave a warm welcome today to the five Cubans who were held in U.S. prisons for fighting terrorism, and Orlando Cardoso, a military man who spent nearly 11 years imprisoned in Somalia.
The six heroes of the Republic of Cuba were received at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito by assistant secretary of Policy Management, Paola Pabon, and then melted into hugs with the crowd outside the airport.
Members of the Cuban medical brigade in Ecuador and other members of the state mission of the Caribbean island, also were present there.
We bring a big hug and a message of gratitude to everyone who joined us from Ecuador in our struggle for justice during 16 years, Gerardo Hernandez told reporters. He arrived in here accompanied by Fernando Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, and Rene Gonzalez, internationally known as the Cuban Five.
The group was detained in September 1998 in Miami, where they monitored anti-Cuba terrorist organizations settled in southern Florida.
Condemned to long prison terms in 2001, Rene and Fernando were released in 2013 and 2014, respectively, after completing their sentences.
Gerardo, Ramon and Antonio were released on December 17, as part of the negotiations between Cuba and the United States that gave way to the normalization of bilateral relations.
Meanwhile, Cardoso fell into the Somali troops' hands, while fighting as internationalist in Ethiopian lands in late 70s of last century, and remained nearly 11 years in prison in that African country.
The presence of those six Cuban heroes in Ecuador motivates us a lot, because they are an example of what a revolutionary is, and because they are people who were willing to risk life and freedom for their ideals and principles, Pabon told Prensa Latina.
On the other hand, assembly woman, Maria Augusta Calle, president of the National Coordinating Committee of Solidarity with Cuba, and who from her seat at the Ecuadorian Parliament boosted several resolutions in favor of the release of the Cuban Five, stated that having the Cuban Five in the South American country shows that persistence, loyalty and courage are important in any revolutionary process.
The six Cuban heroes, who traveled to Ecuador on an invitation by President, Rafael Correa, will participate on Monday, Sept. 28, at the opening ceremony of the 2nd Latin American Progressive Meeting, an event that will bring together in Quito more than 300 representatives of some 70 movements and leftwing political parties.
Their agenda also includes meetings with social organizations and those of solidarity with Cuba, tours of sites of social and tourist interest, and a visit to the Ecuadorian Amazon, to verify the environmental pollution caused by U.S. transnational Chevron in that region.