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Thursday, Dec. 13, 2001

Gerardo Hernandez, 36, was convicted June 8 of conspiracy.

Before his sentencing, Hernandez addressed the court for 20 minutes. He said that the prosecution was a puppet of Miami's Cuban-American community and that the charges never should have been filed.

Four others were convicted on charges involving espionage in the trial and will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard later. There were 26 counts against the five, and all resulted in guilty verdicts after the five-month trial. Hernandez was the only one charged in the attack.

There had been speculation that Lenard could hand down a more severe sentence in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but defense attorney Jack Blumenfeld argued it should work the other way.

He said that Cuba also feared terrorist attacks but claimed the attacks would come from Cuban-Americans in Miami. He said hotel bombings in Cuba were backed by exiles and that the Brothers to the Rescue Cessna aircraft also posed a threat to the Castro regime.

"The government would have a real hard time screaming, as they did ... that these were just civilian aircraft. I think Sept. 11 puts an interesting spin on things," said Blumenfeld, who represents another defendant, Antonio Guerrero.

Also convicted of spying were Ramon Labanino, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez. Hernandez, Guerrero and Labanino were also convicted of providing secrets from military installations to the Cuban dictatorship and faced life in prison.

The two Gonzalezes, who are not related, face 10 years for convictions on lesser spying charges.

The mothers of four of the agents and Rene Gonzalez's daughter were given visas to attend the trial and were present. Labanino's wife did not receive a visa in time to attend.

The 13-member delegation from Cuba sat on one side of the courtroom, and supporters of Brothers to the Rescue sat on the other.

Defense attorneys have asked Lenard to consider the time the men have already served: 18 months in what amounted to solitary confinement.

Prosecutor John Kastrenakes argued that they did not receive any harsh or psychologically dangerous treatment during their stay.

Labanino was to be sentenced later Wednesday, and Rene Gonzalez today. Sentencing for Fernando Gonzalez is set for Monday, and Guerrero's sentencing has been postponed until Dec. 27.

The prosecution said during the trial the five were single-minded spies bent on stealing U.S. military secrets and menacing south Florida's Cuban exiles. The Pentagon said no secrets were lost, but the prosecution argued that was their objective.

The defense did not deny the five were spying but said they were doing it legally by collecting information from the media and other public sources.

Copyright 2001 by United Press International.

All rights reserved.

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