CUBAN FIVE CASE
Deal gives man accused in Cuban Five spy case reduced sentence
One of the so-called Cuban Five convicted in 2001 of spying will get a
20-year prison sentence under a deal between the U.S. and his defense.
By CURT ANDERSON
Associated Press
MIAMI -- A Cuban man originally sentenced to life in prison for spying
in the U.S. would instead receive only a 20-year term under an agreement
filed in court Friday by federal prosecutors and the man's attorney.
The deal was reached in the case of Antonio Guerrero, one of the
so-called Cuban Five convicted in 2001 of espionage conspiracy and other
charges. An appeals court last year threw out the sentences of Guerrero
and two others as unjustifiably harsh. All five convictions were upheld.
Guerrero, 50, is scheduled to receive his new sentence at a Tuesday
hearing before U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard. A decision on new
sentences for the other two -- Ramon Labanino and Fernando Gonzalez --
has been postponed.
The appeals court ruled there was insufficient evidence to justify a
life sentence, because Guerrero never obtained or transmitted top secret
U.S. military information. Prosecutors said he infiltrated the Boca
Chica Naval Air Station in Key West and tried to provide information to
Cuba's intelligence service, but was not successful in passing along
anything classified or secret.
Although Lenard could still sentence Guerrero to another life sentence,
the agreement makes that unlikely. Given time served since his September
1998 arrest, Guerrero would have about nine more years to serve under
the deal.
Guerrero attorney Leonard Weinglass called the agreement ``reasonable.''
He said Guerrero has spent most of his sentence at one of the nation's
highest-security prisons at Florence, Colo., where he has been a model
prisoner who teaches classes in Spanish, chess and art.
``He is a very intelligent individual who has used his abilities in a
positive way while incarcerated,'' Weinglass said in court papers,
noting also that Guerrero has not seen his youngest son since his 1998
arrest.
The Cuban Five, hailed as heroes in Cuba, were part of the ``Wasp
Network'' of spies that sought to penetrate U.S. military installations,
spy on Cuban exiles and monitor politicians opposed to Cuba's communist
regime. At least one of the five was involved in the 1996 downing of
three Cuban exile Brothers to the Rescue planes, according to trial
testimony.
The remaining two Cubans who are due to get new sentences are in a
dispute with prosecutors over whether the U.S. performed any espionage
damage assessments that might bear on their ultimate punishment. Lenard
delayed hearings for those two to allow time for those arguments.
Deal gives man accused in Cuban Five spy case reduced sentence - South
Florida - MiamiHerald.com (10 October 2009)
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/1275493.html
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