04.01.07
Controversial visit: Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone secretly met the families of five convicted terrorists
during his visit to Cuba, it can be revealed today.
The Mayor met the wives of the so-called "Miami Five", who have been
found guilty by a US court of conspiracy to spy on American military bases.
Read more... • In focus: 'Miami Five' are heroes in Havana but enemies
in U.S.
Details only emerged after he was forced to publish his full itinerary
under freedom of information laws, having previously said the publicly
funded trip was to build Olympics links and visit health facilities.
The five men were convicted in 2001 of spying in Miami for Fidel
Castro's Cuban government. Three were sentenced to life, the others to
15 and 19 years.
The men are regarded as heroes in Cuba, whose government claims they
were trying to protect attacks on the Caribbean island by US-based Cuban
exiles.
Their case is expected to eventually reach the US Supreme Court after
their failure last year to win an appeal.
The United Nations has raised concerns about the impartiality of the
trial jury and the severity of the sentences.
The men — Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando
González and René González — admit being spies but say they never harmed
anyone or possessed weapons in the US.
They were arrested by the FBI in 1998 and were said at their trial to
have been part of a spy ring known as The Wasp Network that sought to
gather sensitive military information. Hernández was also convicted of
conspiracy to commit murder.
Mr Livingstone's spokesman today refused to give any details of the
meeting with the men's families, except to confirm it took place on 4
November.
The Cuba trip was part of the Mayor's illfated visit to Latin America
that included a botched attempt to visit Venezuela and cost London
council taxpayers at least £30,000.
The revelation comes as Tory MPs attempt to limit the Mayor's powers
with a law preventing him spending public money in areas considered the
reserve of the Foreign Office.
Mike Tuffrey, Liberal Democrat group leader on the London Assembly,
said: "This is the latest example of Ken Livingstone failing to come
clean when questioned on his secretive trip to Cuba, a visit he made in
London's name and paid for by Londoners' money. It is becoming clear as
the facts emerge that this was a politically motivated visit, which
should never have been funded by the London taxpayer."
Angie Bray, Tory group leader on the Assembly, said: "This goes from bad
to worse. The time he should have been spending running London was spent
visiting the families of people convicted of conspiracy to murder and
spy on Americans."
But Father Geoff Bottoms of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign, who has
visited two of the five men in US prisons, said: "If they were not Cuban
they would not be in this situation. It's all part and parcel of the US
policy towards Cuba.
"These men should be hailed as heroes rather than demonised as spies."
Dr Ian Gibson, Labour chairman of the all-party Parliamentary group on
Cuba, said: "I would support Mr Livingstone in terms of his going over
there.
"It's a bona fide campaign. The men were accused of being terrorists
without any evidence being put forward in court."
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23380434-details/London+Mayor+in+secret+visit+to+terrorists'+families+on+Cuban+trip/article.do
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