Monday, July 02, 2007

Cuban spy speaks

BBC World Service program Newshour has the exclusive interview with convicted Cuban spy Gerardo Hernandez, who received a life sentence from Judge Lenard. His case is still on appeal and is set to be argued in August.

Looks to be an interesting interview. Jay Weaver covers it here. Here's the intro:

A convicted Cuban spy network leader admitted in a prison interview that he was an ''agent'' for Cuba's government, but that he infiltrated South Florida to defend his homeland against alleged attacks by Miami exile ``terrorists.''

Gerardo Hernandez, imprisoned for life in a federal penitentiary in California, said he was not guilty of conspiring with the Cuban air force to shoot down exile pilots over the Florida Straits in 1996 as part of his spy mission.

''Absolutely not,'' Hernandez, 40, said in an interview with the BBC World Service program Newshour, which airs today. During the exclusive interview, Hernandez said the ''worst part'' of his imprisonment was not being able to see his wife of 19 years because the U.S. government has rejected giving her a visa.

Hernandez said he also spoke by phone two years ago with Fidel Castro, who said ''he was confident that justice will prevail'' in the spy case.

2 comments:

Rumpole said...

I actually heard that interview on the BBC this morning. (What, you think I listen to Neil Rodgers?)
Kind of sad, as most of the interview was him saying that he and his lawyers are confident that when the American Public finds out what happened he will be released. Not much hope of that.

Anonymous said...

First of all I must say that I had learnt a lot about this case and neither Gerardo Hernandez nor the other four cubans, are spies as your titles says. In their trial, not even a single page of information related to EEUU security could be shown by the goverment. BBC inteview to Gerardo Hernández is really a good new because we, people, and specially american people have the right to know the true. As for the most powerful mass media in the United States, it is really shameful that they are hiding this case from the very begining. Their obligation is telling the truth. As for the people of the U.S. I think that their lives are not sure at all in the hands of such goverments who protect people like those anticastro terrorists in Miami.Lidia Donnini Argentine teacher