The simultaneous statements by U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro Ruiz are of great historic significance. The comprehensive package of measures aimed at improving the economic, political and diplomatic relations between these two countries signals the beginning of the end to one of the darkest periods in the history of this hemisphere – the 50-plus years of U.S. aggression and blockade against socialist Cuba and her people.
The negotiated agreement calls for the immediate mutual release of Alan Gross (convicted and imprisoned on the charge of espionage by a Cuban court in 2011) and the three remaining imprisoned members of the Cuban Five – Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino and Antonio Guerrero – who have been unjustly jailed in the U.S. since 1998. It also includes the release of another CIA spy held by Cuban authorities, and some other Cuban ‘political prisoners’ at the request of the U.S. Continue reading »