The excessive nature of the sentences of the Five is an indication of the vengeful political motivation of the entire legal proceedings, as are the conditions of their incarceration, including very serious obstacles to family visits, which have reached the extreme of having consistently refused visas to the wives of Gerardo and René.

But there is an even more revealing aspect demonstrating that the intention of the U.S. government was to shelter and protect anti-Cuban terrorists in order to avoid their sinister plans being discovered, thus making itself an accomplice to and covering up their future atrocities. For the Bush administration, this was as important, or more so, than the disproportionate years of incarceration. That was what the prosecution stated, vehemently and in rather graphic terms, when asking the Court for an additional punishment: "incapacitation".

What does that mean? In its own words, for the government it was essential to ensure that these five individuals, after serving their sentences, could never again do anything that might affect the activities of terrorists operating in Miami under the protection of the U.S. government. In order to guarantee that, the prosecution requested, and the Court granted, specific provisions on each sentence, to ensure that, after completing their entire period of incarceration, even one and more life terms, the defendants would be unable to do what took them to prison.

Gerardo, Ramón and Fernando were born in Cuba and, after completing their sentences, will immediately be expelled from U.S. territory as undesirable aliens. That was specifically incorporated into each of their sentences, including that of Gerardo, who after serving his 15 years pending after his second life term, will immediately be deported (Transcript of sentencing hearing before the Honorable Joan A. Lenard, December 12, 2001, P. 93).

René and Antonio posed a particular problem. Having been born in Chicago and Florida, respectively, they are both U.S. citizens by birth and cannot be forced to leave the country. That called for more imaginative thinking and inspired rhetoric on the part of the prosecutors, who demonstrated plenty of both.

A more precise and candid explanation of "incapacitation" was required.

First came René, sentenced "only" to 15 years. The prosecution plainly expressed its grave concern at the prospect of a still young man being released, and once again attempting to do what he had done.

The court, conceding to the government’s concern, added this peculiar requisite to René’s sentence: "As a further special condition of supervised release the defendant is prohibited from associating with or visiting specific places where individuals or groups such as terrorists, members of organizations advocating violence, and organized crime figures are known to be or frequent." (Transcript of sentencing hearing before the Honorable Joan A. Lenard, December 14, 2001, pages 45-46).

And then it was the turn of Antonio Guerrero, who had already received a life sentence plus 10 years’ imprisonment. The prosecutors had to employ all the resources of their eloquence. For the government "incapacitation" was of paramount importance. It could not take any chances and when Antonio faced the court on December 27, 2001, the same "special condition" previously imposed on René was added to his sentence, word for word.

All that took place in December 2001, just three months after the horror of 9/11. From that fateful day George W. Bush made himself famous by demanding an all-out war on terrorists and anyone who gives them any kind of help. Just one quotation from his reiterative discourse: "Any government that supports, protects or harbors terrorists is complicit in the murder of the innocent and equally guilty of terrorist crimes."

We have to take George W. Bush at his word.