History 2003

Gerardo Hernández is taken from his prison job in Lompoc Federal Prison, California, and transferred, without explanation, to solitary confinement in the Special Housing Unit - commonly known as the "Hole" - within which he is placed in a punishment cell known as the "Box". He is given special restrictions differing from other prisoners in the same area - he is the only one prohibited from using the telephone and is subjected to 24 hours without switching off the light.

Fernando González is sent to solitary confinement in his prison in Oxford, Wisconsin, where he is refused visits and telephone contact. The prison authorities say they are operating under the instructions of the US Department of Justice.
Antonio Guerrero is removed from the prison class he is teaching in Florence Federal Penitentiary, Colorado, and placed in solitary confinement. He is denied the possibility of sending or receiving correspondence or using the telephone; has no contact with other inmates; and is refused access to his legal documents.

Officials from the Cuban Interests Section in Washington contact the prison in Lompoc, California where they are informed that Gerardo Hernández had been transferred to solitary and that he cannot receive visits or telephone calls. They are told that no reason can be given for the decision.
The Cuban Consular Office in Washington calls Edgefield Prison in South Carolina and discovers that René González has also been placed in solitary confinement on the orders of the US Attorney General. No further details are offered.
The Cuban Consular Office in Washington contacts the prison in Oxford, Wisconsin and is told that Fernando González is in with the general population and will be allowed a consular visit that had been scheduled for March 10th.
The Cuban Consular Office in Washington unsuccessfully attempts to communicate with Florence, Colorado and Beaumont, Texas prisons to find out what the situation is for Antonio Guerrero and Ramón Labañino, respectively.

After numerous requests from the Cuban Consular Office in Washington, an official from the Cuban Desk of the US State Department confirms - without giving any explanation - that the Cuban Five have all been placed into solitary confinement.
The Cuban Consular Office in Washington is told in the afternoon that Fernando González has been transferred to the "Hole" but that his consular visit is still scheduled for March 10th.
Fernando González' attorney attempts to verify the conditions under which his client is confined and manages to enter into telephone communication with him to discuss the situation and the appeals process. The Bureau of Prisons refuses to answer questions pertaining to Fernando's condition but is willing to agree to a telephone conference with his attorney on March 7th.

The authorities in Edgefield Prison, South Carolina, where René González is incarcerated, report having received a document from Assistant US Federal Attorney for Southern Florida (the office that prosecuted the Five) Caroline Heck Miller that indicates special administrative measures to be taken limiting access to René by his defense attorneys as well as Cuban consular visits. The procedure to request such visits would henceforth have to be requested in writing to the same Assistant Federal Attorney as well as the FBI office in South Carolina.
In the afternoon, the prison authorities in Oxford, Wisconsin inform the Cuban Consular Office in Washington that, according to instructions received, the consular visit scheduled for Fernando González on March 10th is cancelled and that any future requests would have to be made in writing no later than 15 days in advance for consideration. The same authorities indicate that they can offer no motive as to why Fernando has been placed into solitary confinement or what were the causes that motivated the move.
Lompoc Prison in California informs attorney Rafael Anglada that he cannot carry out a visit to Gerardo Hernández that had been arranged on March 2nd and that all future visits by his attorneys would have to be approved through Assistant Federal Attorney Heck Miller and the FBI.
The State Department decrees that henceforth the Federal Bureau of Prisons will apply new procedures to consular visits which must be requested in writing 14 days before the scheduled date. No indication is given as to how long the Cuban Five will remain in solitary, what will be the situation for family visits and where the original order to the Bureau of Prisons for the new procedures relating to consular visits originated.

The authorities in Florence Prison contact attorney Leonard Weinglass and deny his written request that his client Antonio Guerrero be allowed to communicate with him by telephone. The prison administrator informs Weinglass that Antonio's status is part of a "national security" alert and that he couldn't say when this situation would end.
Steve Robinson, the Oxford Prison official in charge of Fernando González' case, informs Fernando's attorney that a scheduled telephone call has been cancelled and that he would not be permitted any contact with the inmate without the approval of Assistant Federal Attorney Caroline Heck Miller. The attorney asks if Fernando González has violated any Bureau of Prisons regulations that justified his move to solitary and is told that the order came from outside the prison from the Justice Department. The attorney is still attempting to obtain basic information related to the transfer of Fernando González into solitary confinement.
A visit previously authorized for Reverend Geoffrey Bottoms who has traveled from Blackpool, England to Beaumont, Texas to visit Ramón Labañino, is cancelled.
A visit previously arranged for US citizen Alicia Jrapko to visit Gerardo Hernández is cancelled by Lompoc Prison authorities who inform her that Gerardo is under new visiting rules and that she would be unlikely to be allowed to visit him in future as henceforth only family visits would be allowed.
Attorney Francisco Martínez, an assistant in the defense of Antonio Guerrero, requests a working visit for March 10th. He is informed that "There are no visits to Mr. Guererro. We are noting all attorney requests to visit and will be in touch."
Attorney Weinglass repeats his request to Lompoc Prison to be allowed to visit Gerardo Hernández on March 16th. He later learns from an official at the prison that the procedure requesting attorney visits had been changed and that he wouldn't be able to visit Gerardo without approval from Assistant Federal Attorney Caroline Heck Miller.
Paul McKenna, attorney for Gerardo Hernández, receives the same reply to a request for a visit to his client.
Fernando González' attorney unsuccessfully attempts to discuss the new circumstances of his client with Assistant Federal Attorney Heck Miller and to request a visit.
Leonard Weinglass, attorney for Antonio Guerrero, attempts without success to contact Assistant Federal Attorney Heck Miller to obtain an explanation as to his client's changed circumstances.
Late at night Assistant Federal Attorney Heck Miller tells Weinglass that she cannot respond to his concerns and that she would get back to him on his client's condition the afternoon of March 10th or the morning of March 11th. Paul McKenna, attorney for Gerardo Hernández, also receives the same promise.

A Cuban consular visit previously programmed for Gerardo Hernández is cancelled by the Bureau of Prisons.
Attorney Weinglass sends a fax to Florence Prison in Colorado informing the authorities that he needs to meet with his client, Antonio Guerrero. He receives no response. (Weinglass had previously sent two faxes requesting telephone communication with his client, both of which were declined).

After many requests for information, the US Government finally informs the defense that forbidding access to the Cuban Five is part of a program known as "Special Administrative Measures" (SAM) under section 28 C.F.R § 501 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The government's letter offers no motive or justification for its actions, provides no precise information on the sanctions imposed, or the rules under which it has adopted such measures.
At 5:00 PM Lompoc Prison announces that henceforth consular access to Gerardo Hernández would only be approved on days of the week that did not coincide with family visits and only in the presence of two officials.

At 6:30 PM, US Assistant Federal Attorney Caroline Heck Miller finally announces that the Government had decided to impose "Special Administrative Measures" on the Five in adherence with section 501.2 of the Code of Federal Regulations which is applicable "to prevent classified information from being revealed".
Lompoc Prison officials notify the Cuban Interests Section in Washington that after consulting with the FBI regarding a consular visit requested for March 26th it had been determined that only one consular representative could be present; that the visit must be between 09:00 AM and 12:00 NOON; and that only English could be spoken. In spite of this, the visit is ultimately suspended as are other requested for Fernando, Antonio, Ramón and René.
Oxford Prison authorities announce that it will be necessary to change once again a consular visit scheduled for Fernando González on March 31st as such visits would now need to be made only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays. However, the visit was subsequently suspended along those of Gerardo, Antonio, Ramón and René.

Florence Prison authorities give official notice that a consular visit scheduled for March 15th has to be cancelled and that henceforth "Special Administrative Measures" were to be obeyed as ordered by the US Attorney General, in which consular visits would be monitored by the FBI and have to be requested 14 days in advance.

Attorney Leonard Weinglass receives a letter from Assistant Federal Attorney Caroline Heck Miller in which she informs him that the US Attorney General had ordered "Special Administrative Measures" on February 24th, 2003, and that they would remain in force for one year after which they may be extended.

After numerous contacts with Assistant Federal Attorney Caroline Heck Miller, Leonard Weinglass succeeds in obtaining authorization to visit Gerardo Hernández - a visit scheduled since the month of February. As a result of this visit Weinglass discovers that Gerardo Hernández has, since February 28th, been under the severest punishment the prison can offer - locked in the "Box", which amounts to a hole within the "Hole". He has no contact with other humans, is not permitted to sue the telephone and is not given access to his correspondence - not even that with his attorneys.

After numerous efforts to communicate with his client, attorney Joaquín Méndez manages to speak with Fernando González by telephone and discovers that he hasn't received any of the correspondence he has been sending him on the case.
Florence Prison authorities notify attorney Leonard Weinglass that the visit scheduled to see his client Antonio Guererro on March 18th would be under severe restrictions, with no physical contact, through a glass divider and without the possibility of reviewing documents with his client necessary for the appeal.

After 15 days in solitary confinement and the day before a visit from his attorney, Florence Prison authorities inform Antonio Guererro that he would remain under solitary confinement until February 24th, 2004 and that this could be extended by another year.

Leonard Weinglass visits Antonio Guerrero under very strict conditions. Antonio arrives in handcuffs and leg-chains, is deprived of contact with his attorney by a glass partition, and is not provided with a means to pass documents which has to be done via the guards - a process so slow that it has to be abandoned and the documents placed against the glass for Antonio to read. According to Weinglass the conditions of this visit were far worse than those he had experienced when visiting Mumia Abu-Jamal on death row in Pennsylvania.