Tuesday, July 27, 2010. Santiago de Chile. More than 50 delegates of housing committees that together constitute the Movimiento Pueblo Sin Techo (MPST), arrived this morning to the US embassy in Chile to request, through letters addressed to president Barack Obama, freedom for the five incarcerated Cubans. Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzales, Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino and René Gonzales – known as the Five Cuban Heroes – will have been in US prisons for 12 years this September. 

 The five Cubans went to the United States to compile information on the plans of terrorist organizations, based in Miami , which are involved in sabotage and other aggressive acts against Cuba . Accused of conspiracy, the five were tried in the US without the guarantee of due process and received unjust and excessive sentences. For the past 12 years, US authorities have prohibited visits from family members and hampered contact with defense attorneys.

 The letters, addressed to the highest US authority, request the recognition of human rights, the importance of family, and the immediate release of the five Cubans incarcerated in that country. Sandra Oliva , leader of the MPST, stated: “According to UNESCO, Cuba is the only country that has fulfilled the Millenium Development Goals. These five men were in the US defending the achievement of those goals. In Cuba , access to healthcare, education, work, nutrition and housing are universally guaranteed and ensured by the state. We, as women fighting for our right to decent housing, have the moral obligation to stand in solidarity with those who recognize these rights and risk their lives to defend them in their country.“

 Embassy officials received the letters on the sidewalk outside the diplomatic complex, claiming that they lacked the necessary facilities and formal procedure to receive such petitions.

 The Movimiento Pueblo Sin Techo is a founding member, together with other social organizations, of a new political referent called Partido Igualdad (Equality Party).