• WASHINGTON.— The Cuban Interests Section here in the U.S. capital denounced an editorial in The Washington Post which distorts events related to Cuba, including the prosecution of Alan Gross and the case of the Five Cuban anti-terrorists incarcerated in the United States.

In a December 31 editorial column, the newspaper questioned the sentence imposed by a Cuban court on U.S. citizen Alan Gross, convicted of violating the law.

The Cuban diplomatic mission in Washington explained in a letter to the Post, "We would like to clarify that the accused was not tried or convicted for any ‘humanitarian work’ associated with helping the Jewish community in Cuba gain Internet access, since synagogues in Cuba had connections long before his arrival."

"Mr. Gross violated Cuban law and was carrying out undercover operations; the U.S. government contracted him to implement federal programs intended to disrupt the constitutional order of our country," the text continued.

This is considered illegal in Cuba, as it is in many counties, including the United States and, as the document explains, the accused has acknowledged his responsibility for the crimes committed.

"It should be pointed out that the Cuban government has informed U.S. authorities that it is willing to seek a solution to Mr. Gross’ case based on humanitarian reciprocity," the letter states.

At the same time, the Cuban Interests Section criticizes a section of the article attempting to justify the inordinate sentences handed down to the Cuban Five, as René González, Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino and Fernando González are known internationally.

The Cuban response to the editorial asserts that the article ignores the worldwide support for the Cubans, four of whom continue to serve unjust sentences while René, the first to complete his full sentence, is required to remain in U.S. territory on probation for three more years.

The description of these five anti-terrorists as "spies who infiltrated military installations in South Florida" is an attempt to misguide readers, according to the Interests Section statement.

"They were simply monitoring the activity of extremist groups of Cuban origin in New Jersey and Florida, attempting to anticipate their terrorist actions and gather evidence about possible attacks within U.S. territory," the letter continued, "Thanks to the work of the Five, Cuba shared with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, during William Clinton’s Presidency, dozens of video tapes and many details about the campaign of terror these individuals were planning and attempting to perpetrate."

"This evidence, however, was not used to arrest the true terrorists, but rather to prosecute the five Cubans in a judicial process corrupted by political motivations."

"Documents corroborate that the U.S. government paid journalists to write articles defaming the five anti-terrorist Cubans in the mass media during the trial, violating the rights of the accused to an impartial trial."

"We encourage The Washington Post to consider the arguments presented here to provide better coverage of these issues," the message from the Cuban Interests Section in Washington concluded.

The International Committee to Free the Five Cubans - imprisoned in the United States since 1998 - challenged the Post article, pointing out that it ignores the opinions of many artists, intellectuals, Nobel Prize winners and even former President James Carter, who have advocated for the release of the Five.