Rene Gonzalez in Cuba for Private Visit

René Gonzalez, one of the five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters unjustly convicted in the United States, is in Havana on a private and family visit, national media reported.

René is being held on U.S. soil for three years of supervised release, despite having served his sentence, and following the death of his father, Candido Gonzalez, he asked for permission to the Court for the Southern District of Florida to be with his family.

Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez were arrested in 1998 for monitoring Miami-based terrorist groups planning actions against Cuba, and received their sentences with no evidence of the charges imputed.

While René is under supervised release, the other four remain in prison with long sentences, including Hernandez’s two life sentences plus 15 years.

According to the official note released today in the press, his trip to Cuba was approved under strict conditions by Judge Joan Lenard, who from the beginning has been on the case of the Five, as they are known internationally.

In this sense, René had to give the authorities the detailed itinerary of his stay in the Caribbean island, data on his location and contact information here in the country.

Besides, adds the note, he must get in contact, by telephone, with his probation officer while in Cuba and return to the U.S. within the period prescribed.

This is the second visit of Rene to the island after finishing his sentence.

The first one was in 2012, under the same conditions, to see his brother Roberto, who was seriously ill and died several months later.