Visa delay for wife of Cuban anti-terrorist

THE U.S. Interests Section (USIS) in Havana has postponed granting a visa to Olga Salanueva, the wife of René González, one of the five Cubans unjustly imprisoned by Washington for combating terrorism.

"They told me that my application was being considered by the State Department and that they would advise me by phone at some non-defined point," Salanueva told reporters at the USIS exit, where she was called for in relation to her proposed visit.

"They didn’t tell me yes or no," added Olga, who has been refused a visa on six previous occasions, which means that neither she nor her younger daughter Ivette have seen René in five years.

They also notified her that she might have to return to the USIS for another interview, as her file shows that she was deported from the United States five years ago, as a result of her husband’s arrest.

She also said that the official who received her asked her various questions related to her status, that of her husband and her two daughters, although he was not discourteous.

In relation to the process leading up to yesterday’s interview, she described it as a succession of complicated steps that took more than two months.

"These torturous procedures are nothing other than torture and cruel psychological treatment," observed Nuris Piñeiro, the legal assistant to the prisoners’ families.

According to the lawyer, the authorities had the time to examine Olga’s case, prepare her file and facilitate the visit of Salanueva and her younger daughter to René.

She stated that this delay over the visa demonstrates that the U.S. authorities are not acting with any vocation for justice and are obviating the rights of the family and of the prisoner.

Piñeiro noted that they had to wait for the final outcome and added that if (the U.S. officials) reflect on and properly assess what is constituted by guarantees to the family and basic rights then the decision would be a positive one.

There is no argument against granting a visa to Olga, not even the pretext of her deportation is valid as the incident occurred five years ago, an expiration period that is stipulated in US immigration legislation, she affirmed.

Two weeks ago, the State Department denied a visa to Adriana Pérez, the wife of Gerardo Hernández, for the sixth time. She has been unable to visit her husband for seven years because of Washington’s intransigence.

René González, Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero and Fernando González, who have been in prison since 1998, were sentenced in Miami to heavy terms that range from 15 years to double life.

The Five, as they are known in the international campaigns for their release, had the mission of obtaining information on anti-Cuban groups located in southern Florida, and which are responsible for acts of violence directed at targets within and outside of Cuba.

In August, the Atlanta Court of Appeals annulled their sentences and ordered a retrial, but decided last week to review that decision at the request of the public attorney in charge of the case. (PL)