At the official welcoming ceremony in the Plaza Simon Bolivar, Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez, together with their families, laid a wreath at the statue of the Liberator of America.

Rodriguez said Venezuela thus commends the work and struggle carried out by the Cuban Five even when they were away from their homeland.

“We gave you the Keys to Caracas so that you know the gates of Caracas and this Homeland will always be open to you”, he said.

For his part, the head of government of the Capital District, Ernesto Villegas, said the courage and dignity of the Cuban Five in US prisons since 1998, and the resistance of the Cuban people against Washington’s criminal blockade, are a clear example that when peoples fight for peace and independence, they deserve the victory.

The campaign for the release of Gerardo, Rene, Ramon, Fernando and Antonio and their unwavering conviction -he said- gave us fuel and inspiration for Venezuela’s crusade against the meddling decree of President Barack Obama, who considered Venezuela a threat for the US national security.

These men were arrested in 1998 in the United States and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment for preventing aggressions against Cuba and monitoring the actions of violent organizations based in Florida.

Hernandez, Labañino and Guerrero returned to Cuban soil on 17 December and their release was the result of an agreement reached between Cuba and the United States to restore diplomatic relations.

Rene Gonzalez and Fernando Gonzalez were released in 2013 and 2014; respectively, after fully serving their unfair sentences, according to the opinion of many international organizations and personalities.

(Prensa Latina)

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) will be officially created on Saturday during the final session of the Summit of heads of State and Government of the region, gathered since December 2 in this capital with that purpose.

Defined by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as the future great center for regional power of the 21st century, the high-level forum will approve today the Caracas Declaration, a document that will define the political budget of a bloc for integration, development and peace.

Today’s agenda also includes summit meetings of the Union of South American States (UNASUR) and Petrocaribe. The latter is an institution that on Friday held its 7th Ministerial Council, in which strength and advances were recognized.

The opening of CELAC foundational summit was held on Friday at the Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas, after the arrival of presidents from 33 Latin American and Caribbean nations that will join the organization from now on.

Chavez stated that solidarity, cooperation, complementariety and political agreement will be CELAC’s mainstays. According to the Venezuelan president, it will be a geopolitical space that fulfills Bolivar’s dream and unitary project, in benefit of the member nations.

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States will build on the experiences of the 3rd Latin American and Caribbean Summit (CALC) and the Rio Group, which will join the new bloc.

After the opening ceremony, participants walked along Paseo de los Proceres avenue to Fuerte Tiuna, south of Caracas, to begin the first presidential plenary session, after the creation of the event.

Presidents Cristina Fernandez (Argentina), Dilma Rousseff (Brazil), Raul Castro (Cuba), Porfirio Lobo (Honduras), Rafael Correa (Ecuador), Leonel Fernandez (Dominican Republic) and Felipe Calderon (Mexico) took the floor at the summit.

President Chavez read a message to greet participants in the Summit sent from Havana by the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro.

The delegates will also approve the CELAC’s action plan for 2012, prepared along with 18 communiques about the most diverse issues during the meeting of foreign ministers and the coordinating commission, presided over by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro.

(Prensa Latina)