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Death of Leonard
Weinglass, exceptional fighter
for the Cuba Five
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U.S. attorney Leonard Weinglass, legal
representative for Antonio Guerrero and untiring
fighter for the cause of the Cuban Five, died
yesterday in New York, sources close to him
confirmed.
 From the Chicago Eight to Jane
Fonda, from Angela Davis to the kidnappers of Patty
Hearst, from Daniel Ellsberg to Amy Carter,
Weinglass represented defendants in many of the most
spectacular court proceedings in the United States.
Weinglass came to the forefront of
his profession after the trial of the Chicago Eight,
demonstrators against the Vietnam War who were
arrested during protests at the Democratic Party
Convention in 1968. His clients included Abbie "Steal
This Book" Hoffman; Tom Hayden, a political activist
who later became a Democratic congressman; and Bobby
Seale, who was brought to court handcuffed and
gagged. The trial is the subject of an upcoming film
by Steven Spielberg. Some years later, Weinglass
found himself defending Daniel Ellsberg, the man who,
in 1971, leaked to the press the Pentagon Papers
regarding the secret history of the Vietnam War, an
act which was instrumental to the downfall of
President Nixon. Weinglass remained in touch with
many of his former clients.
In an interview published by
CubaDebate in 2004, Weinglass explained in no
uncertain terms why he agreed to become Antonio’s
attorney and support the cause of the Cuban Five. As
he affirmed in his own words:
"I have never worked as a lawyer
with the aim of making money, or in litigations for
money. Since I studied at the university and we were
taught that being a lawyer entails a commitment to
justice, I assumed it as such, with absolute passion.
Since that point in time I have been involved in
cases where justice has been denied, or in cases of
a political nature insofar as I understand politics—a
commitment to those whom are denied justice everyday.
I have also been in processes that occasionally,
within the United States, have acquired
international significance. In this particular case,
these three elements are interlinked, but there is
something else: we are representing five exceptional
human beings. For me, Antonio is not just another
defendant. Being his lawyer is more than that. It is,
simply, an honor."
Translated by Granma International
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The Cuban Five
congratulate
women of the world
THE five Cuban anti-terrorist
fighters unjustly incarcerated in U.S. prisons since
1998 congratulated the women of Cuba and the world,
on the occasion of International Women’s Day,
according to Prensa Latina.
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Billboard to the Five in
downtown Miami
MIAMI, January 11.—Right in the heart of Miami, on
Northwest 37th Avenue and 4th
Street, facing the entrance to the Flagler Dog
Track, a billboard appeared today with portraits of
the five Cuban anti-terrorists unjustly incarcerated
on U.S. jails: Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero,
Fernando González, Ramón Labañino and René González.
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Obama can and
should restore justice
HOLGUIN.—
U.S. President Barack Obama must order the immediate
and unconditional release of the Cuban anti-terrorist
fighters who are still unjustly incarcerated in that
nation, affirmed Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada,
president of the National Assembly of People’s Power,
in a message sent to the 300-plus participants in
the 6th International Conference for the release of
the Five and against terrorism.
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