{"id":2527,"date":"2014-12-18T11:58:41","date_gmt":"2014-12-18T11:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=2527"},"modified":"2014-12-18T15:27:13","modified_gmt":"2014-12-18T15:27:13","slug":"free-last","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=2527","title":{"rendered":"Free at last"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n<p>Family and friends of the Miami Five are in for an early Christmas present, as the remaining three unjustly imprisoned Cubans were released yesterday (December 17), following an almost decades-long worldwide campaign for their freedom.<br \/>\nThe release of Gerardo Hern\u0102\u02c7ndez, Antonio Guerrero and Ramon Laba\u0102\u00b1ino from American prisons follows the release of Alan Gross by Cuba as part of a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098prisoner swap\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and marks moves to \u00e2\u20ac\u0098normalise\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 relations between the United States and Cuba.<br \/>\nThe release of the Miami Five, anti-terrorism campaigners falsely accused of espionage in an extremely prejudiced trial in 2000, marks a victory for the tireless campaigning of the prisoners\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 wives and groups around the world, including Unite.<br \/>\nCommenting on the final three prisoners\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 release, Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis historic move is the culmination of years of campaigning by the wives of the Miami Five and campaigners across the globe.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is difficult to imagine not seeing your children grow up or seeing your family properly for over a decade,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat has been the story of the Miami Five and their unjust imprisonment, of missed years and a continual fight for justice.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<br \/>\nMcCluskey hailed the role Unite played in the campaign to secure the prisoners\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 freedom.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe Miami Five\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plight has been an issue close to the heart of Unite and its predecessor unions,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bTheir release owes much to the energy of former Unite general secretary Tony Woodley, who has campaigned tirelessly for the Miami Five to be reunited with their loved ones after years of imprisonment.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bTheir release today shows what can be achieved through solidarity and perseverance, and will see families torn apart not just in Cuba, but in the United States brought together again after years of heartache,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 McCluskey added.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Rob Miller, director of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign, a Unite-affiliated group campaigning against the US blockade of Cuba, explained how years of campaigning had finally paid off.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are absolutely delighted about the release of the remaining prisoners. The Cuba Solidarity Campaign, in conjunction with Unite and other trade unions, have been campaigning for many, many years for this moment,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Miller.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are now aiming to invite the Miami Five to the UK,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re hoping to have them here sometime in the new year to celebrate this remarkable victory.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For more information about the Cuba Solidarity Campaign, visit its website<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cuba-solidarity.org.uk\/\"> here. <\/a><br \/>\nStay tuned on UNITElive.org for the latest on the Miami Five.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Family and friends of the Miami Five are in for an early Christmas present, as the remaining three unjustly imprisoned Cubans were released yesterday (December 17), following an almost decades-long worldwide campaign for their freedom. The release of Gerardo Hern\u0102\u02c7ndez, Antonio Guerrero and Ramon Laba\u0102\u00b1ino from American prisons follows the release of Alan Gross by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[158,87],"wps_subtitle":"Justice for Miami Five ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2527"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2527"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2533,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2527\/revisions\/2533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}