For the Freedom of our Puerto Rican Political Prisoners and the Cuban 5

FOR THE FREEDOM OF OUR PATRIOTS

Gerardo said on one occasion that justice will 
only come when it is dictated by a jury of 
millions.  Ours is the task of mobilizing those 
millions wherever we find ourselves.
Ricardo Alarcon de Quesada

Joint Declaration
For the Freedom of our Puerto Rican Political Prisoners and the Cuban 5

The patriotic Puerto Rican people continue 
alongside the Cuban people in their long journey 
in their struggle for freedom. Throughout our 
long common history of struggle in the face of 
imperialism, it has been necessary to take up 
joint efforts in order to achieve our objectives of justice and freedom.

Cuba has been a consistent and steadfast factor 
in the struggle for the independence of Puerto 
Rico and played a fundamental role in the 
freedom, in 1979, of the five nationalist heroes 
Oscar Collazo, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Lolita 
Lebron, Irvin Flores and Andres Figueroa 
Cordero.  Cuba also contributed to the campaign 
to secure the freedom of our political prisoners in 1999.

Cuba has always been at our side in the campaigns 
that have been carried out throughout the years 
for the freedom of our political prisoners, as it 
has in all the struggle that our indomitable 
people have waged.  This was the case with the 
victorious struggle to remove the U.S. Navy from 
the island of Vieques.  Cuba made key efforts to 
promote support internationally for the Peoples' 
Strike of 1998 and it was the same with the University strike of two years ago.

Thousands of Puerto Rican men and women have 
struggled together with Cuba since the 19th 
Century.  In recent decades, the flag of struggle 
against the criminal blockade, the challenge to 
the prohibition of travel to Cuba and the 
campaign to free the Cuban 5, have given ultimate 
meaning to the versus of our Lola Rodriguez de 
Tia: Cuba and Puerto Rico are the two wings of the same bird.

Today, when our sons , heroes of our homelands, 
suffer unjust prison sentences in the dungeons of 
the Empire, and when their most basic human 
rights are being trampled upon by the government 
of the United States, our people demand with one 
voice the freedom of our patriots: ¡Freedom for 
the three Puerto Rican heroes and for the five 
Cuban heroes!  We exclaim to all the world that 
they are heroes and that their only 'crime' has 
been to defend the freedom, peace and tranquility 
of the Cuban people and to demand the right to 
freedom of the Puerto Rican people.

On this day, when thousands of people come 
together in this March in Washington from 
different places in the world, from Puerto and in 
this Open Tribunal for the Freedom of Our 
Patriots, in front of the installations of the Empire, we:

1.        We demand that the government of the 
United States give unconditional freedom to the 
five Cuban anti-terrorist patriots Gerardo 
Hernandez Nordelo, Antonio Guerrero Rodriguez, 
Fernando Gonzalez Llort, Ramon Labaino Salazar y 
Rene Gonzalez Sehwerert, as well as, their 
immediate return to their Cuban homeland.

2.        We also demand the unconditional 
freedom of the three Puerto Rican revolutionaries 
Oscar Lopez Rivera, Avelino Gonzalez Claudio y Norberto Gonzalez Claudio.

3.        We denounce the crime of against 
humanity that is being perpetrated against 
Companero Oscar Lopez Rivera, who in the coming 
days will have been incarcerated for 31 years and 
the so-called conditional freedom that was 
granted to Rene that has been made into a 
continued torture of 24 months and almost a sentence of death.

4.        We salute and acknowledge this effort 
by so many progressive organizations in the 
United States that serves to demonstrate, once 
again, that the unity of the people will be victorious against the Empire.

5.        We reaffirm the indomitable solidarity 
between the Puerto Rican and Cuban peoples and 
raise our voices against the Empire from Puerto 
Rico to exclaim that our solidarity will never be blockaded.

LONG LIVE THE ETERNAL SOLIDARITY OF THE PEOPLES!
FREEDOM FOR OUR PATRIOTS!
THE PEOPLE UNITED WILL WIN!

 From San Juan, Puerto Rico, on this 21 day of April of 2012.

Organizational signatories . . .

BRIGADA JUAN RIUS RIVERA
COLECTIVO DE RESISTENCIA
COMITE DE APOYO AVELINO Y NOBERTO GONZALEZ CLAUDIO
COMITE DE SOLIDARIDAD CON CUBA
COMITE PRO DERECHOS HUMANOS
COORDINADORA CARIBEANA Y LATINOAMERICA DE PUERTO RICO
FEDERACION UNIVERSITARIA PRO INDEPENDENCIA
FRENTE AMPLIO DE SOLIDARIDAD Y LUCHA (FASyL)
FRENTE SOCIALISTA
FUNDACION FILIBERTO OJEDA RIOS
GRAN ORIENTE NACIONAL DE PUERTO RICO
HERMANDAD DE EMPLEADOS EXENTOS NO DOCENTES
LA NUEVA ESCUELA
MOVIMIENTO AL SOCIALISMO
MOVIMIENTO INDEPENDENTISTA NACIONAL HOSTOSIANO
MOVIMIENTO SOLIDARIO SINDICAL
ORGANIZACION PUERTORRIQUENA DE LA MUJER TRABAJADORA
PARTIDO COMUNISTA DE PUERTO RICO
PARTIDO INDEPENDENTISTA PUERTORRIQUENA
PARTIDO NACIONALISTA DE PUERTO RICO

Former Political Prisoners:
1. Rafael Cancel Miranda
2. Dylcia Pagan
3. Edwin Cortes Acevedo
4. Ida Luz Rodriguez
5. Alicia Rodriguez
6. Carmen Valentin
7. Elizam Escobar
8. Carlos Alberto Torres
9. Adolfo Matos Antongiorgi
10. Luis Rosa Perez
11. Juan Segarra Palmer
12. Orlando Gonzalez Claudio
13. Pablo Marcano Garcia
14. Norberto Cintron Fiallo
15. Federico Cintron Fiallo

Well known Personalities that have added their 
endorsement to this call for The Freedom of Our Patriots:
1. Andres Hernandez Cortes
2. Angel R. Figueroa Jaramillo
3. Antonio (Tony) Rivera
4. Arturo Santiago
5. Danny Rivera
6. Dr. Hector Pesquera Sevillano
7. Elma Beatriz Rosado
8. Eva Ayala Berrios
9. Flora Santiago
10. Guillermo de la Paz
11. John A. Cestare Mercado
12. Jose Rivera Rivera
13. Josefina Pantoja Oquendo
14. Lic. Alejandro Torres Rivera
15. Lic. Alvin Couto
16. Lic. Cesar Rosado
17. Lic. Eduardo Villanueva
18. Lic. Julio Lopez Keelan
19. Lic. Manuel Rodriguez Banchs
20. Lic. Maria Suarez Santos
21. Lic. Osvaldo Toledo
22. Lic. Rafael Anglada Lopez
23. Lic. Ricardo Santos Ortiz
24. Lic. Ruth Arroyo
25. Lilliana Laboy
26. Luis Pedraza Leduc
27. Maria Isabel Rodriguez
28. Miguel Cruz Santos
29. Milagros Rivera Perez
30. Perla Franco
31. Prof. Rafael Bernabe
32. Raul Alzaga Manresa
33. Ricardo Santos Ramos
34. Rita Zengotita
35. Rvda. Eunice Santana
36. William Perez Vega

 From the entrails of the monster/the Empire:
1. Pro Libertad, Campana por la Excarcelacion de los Presos Politicos
     Puertorriquenos
2. Coalicion 26 de Julio
3. Proyecto de Educacion Popular para la Libertad de los 5 Cubanos
4. Frente Socialista de Puerto Rico - Comite de Nueva York
5. Casa de las Americas - Nueva York
6. Comite Organizador 21 de Abril "Pa' Washington por los 5" 
     Nueva York/New Jersey
7. Fuerza de la Revolucion Dominicana, Comite de Nueva York

Puerto Rican nationalist seeks release on bond

By Michael Melia Associated Press / April 16, 2012

HARTFORD, Conn.—A 66-year-old Puerto Rican nationalist awaiting trial in a record-setting 1983 robbery has asked to be released on bond, saying that the conditions of his detention are restricting his communication with family and trusted advisers as he considers his defense strategy.

Norberto Gonzalez Claudio, who was arrested by the FBI last May, said in documents filed Sunday that he would honor a promise to appear for trial. His attorneys named eight people in Puerto Rico who are willing to co-sign a bond and said Gonzalez has a son in Stratford, Conn., willing to act as his father's custodian.

"He understands fully that a willful failure to appear would result in very serious consequences to his family, and he will not allow that to happen," his attorneys wrote to the judge in U.S. District Court in Hartford.

Thomas Carson, a spokesman for the Connecticut U.S. attorney, said prosecutors will respond to the motion in court.

Gonzalez is accused of aiding the 1983 robbery of $7 million from a Wells Fargo armored car depot in West Hartford, Conn., that was orchestrated by Los Macheteros, a group that claimed responsibility for robberies, murders and bombings in the 1970s and `80s in the name of Puerto Rican independence. At the time, it was the biggest cash robbery in U.S. history.

He has been detained at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island, where he complained last year about treatment by "imperialist abusers." He says his time outside his cell has been severely restricted and he has not been allowed to meet in-person with visiting relatives.

In the court filing, he said monitoring of his prison visits and phone calls -- part of the restrictions he describes as punishment for his political viewpoints -- keep him from consulting in confidence with his family and political advisers.

"He thus has no space whatsoever to explore with those closest to him -- and in his own language -- how to best approach his defense," his lawyers wrote.

Gonzalez has pleaded not guilty to federal charges including bank robbery, conspiracy and transportation of stolen money.

He and his brother, Avelino, lived as fugitives for more than two decades before they were both arrested in recent years. Avelino Gonzalez Claudio is serving a seven-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in 2010 to his role in the heist.

The robbery was allegedly carried out by Victor Manuel Gerena, a Wells Fargo driver recruited by Los Macheteros, and authorities say other members of the group including Norberto Gonzalez helped to smuggle the money out of the United States. Prosecutors have said they believe the money was used to finance bombings and attacks in their push for independence for the U.S. Caribbean territory.

PUERTO RICO: FILIBERTO OJEDA WAS PLAYING THE TRUMPET WHEN MURDERED BY THE FBI

Jesus Davila alainet.org

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, January 30th 2012 (NCM) ­ Two agents who
participated in the assault on the home of Filiberto Ojeda, Commander
of the Boricua People's Army- Macheteros, testified that the sniper
"Brian" fired the fatal shots when the veteran guerrilla was playing
his trumpet, according to the official report that determined that it
was an illegal murder and requests that the criminal investigations be
reopened.

The testimonies, which were kept secret for over five years and are
known about due to the new report by the Civil Rights Commission, were
allegedly given at scene the day after a commando unit led by the
Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) of the Federal Bureau of Investigations
attacked Ojeda's home and murdered him on September 23rd 2005.

There was an arrest warrant for Ojeda for the theft of $7 million from
the Wells Fargo in order to finance the operations by the Macheteros
and the official version of events is that when the agents arrived he
opened fire first and was able to hit three of them, one of whom
required surgery. According to that version, "Brian" took the shot
when spotting Ojeda taking aim again with his 9 mm pistol, but this
came into doubt when it became known that the locations of the sniper
did not make that observation possible.

This has led to speculation as to if a thermal sight had been used,
but this was not amongst the weapons that they reported were used.

The new evidence would explain how "Brian" could have aimed at the
direction of the sound of the trumpet since he could not see Ojeda. It
is also indicative of the fact that the sniper as well as the other
agents in the perimeter knew that at that moment the fugitive did not
pose a threat since his hands were busy with the musical instrument
and not holding his gun.

These facts are on page 128 and 129 of the 238 page report submitted
by the CDC about the bloody incident, after the Office of the
Inspector General of the FBI cleared the agents of the HRT that took
part and the Puerto Rico department of Justice closed the case after
not finding evidence of "negligent homicide".

However, the new report concludes that the HRT-FBI contingent arrived
shooting without any documented justification, and that Ojeda opened
fire with a pistol in self-defense against an assault group which
fired over a hundred rifle rounds within two minutes. The report also
states that after Ojeda was wounded there was ample opportunity to
give him medical assistance and save his life, but instead they opted
for letting him slowly bleed to death.

The following day the FBI allowed Puerto Rican investigators access
after the cadaver had been moved with a cable. The body sent to the
Institute of Forensic Sciences for a final autopsy.

The report also points to the lack of analysis in order to determine
the time of death, if the position of the body was changed in order to
alter the scene and the exact trajectory of the shots amongst other
things.

At the beginning of the investigators forensic evaluation on the 24th,
the experts noticed that Ojeda's trumpet, instead of being stored
inside the house as the priced possession it was, it was at the foot
of the cement blocks and dirt stairs at the entrance.

According to the report, in finding this, the investigators supervisor
interrogated two agents who participated in the operation who are
identified in the document. He stated that they told him that Ojeda
was playing the trumpet at the time "Brian" shot at him and that he
fell to the floor with the trumpet that later rolled down the stairs
when they pulled the body with the cable.

The forensic investigators took some pictures of the instrument and
its location, as well as tagging it for evidence. However, "report ICF
A-4622-05" does not include the trumpet amongst the items seized at
the scene.

The report stated that the statements by the official could not be
corroborated because the FBI prohibited that the two agents be
questioned by the CDC.


Luis F. Abreu Elias, one of Ojeda's attorneys stated after receiving
anonymous information that a supervisor confiscated it after one of
the FBI agents tried to take it as a trophy. Ojeda's attorneys carried
out a long battle in order to recover the trumpet, without the FBI
explaining why they kept it if it was an object that had nothing to do
with the events investigated.

According with that interview, the FBI never disclosed that the
trumped was incriminating evidence against the so called "Brian", who
refused to testify protected by the constitutional right against
self-incrimination.

After the first shootout on the day of these events, Ojeda's wife,
Mrs. Elma Beatriz Barbosa surrendered at his instructions and before
she was taken heard her husband say he would talk about surrendering
himself as well with a reporter as a witness. The negotiations
continued for some time and while waiting for a response that never
came was when Ojeda began to play the trumpet.

It is not known what Ojeda would be playing but sometime before these
events, he had said that if the FBI arrived at his house to kill him,
he would receive them with the Suite of the Americas, composed by
Damaso Perez Prado, The King of "The Mambo" in homage to the Heroic
Guerrilla Ernesto Che Guevara.

The report of the CDC, of which NCM News recently received a copy,
recommends that it be required of the Puerto Rican Department of
Justice and the Civil Rights Division in Washington investigate the
case. It is dated March 11th 2011; it was reviewed September 22,
approved October 13th and certified December 5th past

NCM-CHI-SJ-NY-30-01-12-02

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ACLU: Puerto Rico has pattern of police brutality

Tue May 3, 2011 Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A celebrity-enhanced ACLU delegation criticized
Puerto Rico's government Tuesday for using police to keep the island's
main university system open during a strike over a new fee, with members
saying they found clear evidence in which officers abused students during
the protests.

The delegation, which included Oscar-nominated actress Rosie Perez and
former major league baseball player Carlos Delgado, said the initial
findings of a fact-finding mission found a pattern of excessive police
force over the past 18 months involving students, union leaders and
journalists.

Their final report, which will be presented to the U.S. Justice
Department, is expected by September.

Perez said at a news conference that she was overwhelmed by the testimony
of students who said they were brutalized or sexually harassed and groped
by police during a series of violent clashes over the $800 fee and budget
cuts.

"I was really appalled as to how many of the adults treated many of the
young people whether the young people were right or wrong," Perez said.
"Yes, there were some bad apples, there were many bad apples in the bunch,
but even they have certain rights."

Puerto Rico last year appointed an independent monitor for its police
department and announced additional training in April for all officers in
response to repeated allegations of brutality and misconduct.

Puerto Rico's Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock, who met with the ACLU
delegation along with other island officials, faulted the delegates for
announcing their preliminary findings so quickly, saying it suggested they
had reached their conclusions before they had started. He said he urged
them to expand their focus to include the rights of students and teachers
who wanted to go to classes despite the months of protests at island
campuses.

"The rights of those thousands of students should be equally entitled to
ACLU interest and protection as the rights of the hundreds who
participated in the demonstrations," he said.

ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said in response that the group
agrees that students have a right to attend classes but that local
authorities went too far in using police to keep the university open.

"The university cannot be kept open at any cost," he said.