U.S. Academicians Back Cuba, Condemn Blockade

Cuba was backed on Friday by the academic community meeting at the 30th Congress of Latin American Studies (LASA), as part of its actions to tackle the U.S. blockade.

Cuba´s section in LASA passed two resolutions championing the rights of Cubans to participate in the congresses convened by the institution in U.S. soil and demanding the liberation and return to the island of five antiterrorists, unjustly held in the United State.

This group, comprised of 263 academicians from different countries, agreed to send messages to U.S. highest authorities demanding the end of the blockade that hinders, among other issues, the exchange among academicians.

The first resolution was promoted by the denial of visas to enter the United States to 10 important Cuban professors and researchers, who intended to attend LASA Congress, for being considered as a threat to national security.

The resolution notes that LASA will seriously reconsider holding its meetings in the United States after having carried them out in other countries due to the U.S. denial of granting visas to Cubans residing in the island.

The other resolution passed by the section requests authorities the immediate release of five Cubans, imprisoned in the United States, and the return to Cuba of one of them, who already served his sentence and is being held in U.S. soil as an additional punishment.

Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and René González infiltrated extreme right groups in the United States to prevent terrorist attacks against Cuba, but did not commit espionage against the United States.

The section, which includes specialists on political, economic and social matters, also decided to send letter to President Obama demanding the lift to the blockade of over half a century against Cuba that is affecting the life and health of its inhabitants. (Taken from PL)