Havana - The Cuban Five were honored in Havana Wednesday, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of their incarceration in the United States.

The commemoration took place at the headquarters of the Cuban Friendship Institute (ICAP).  Rene Gonzalez, Fernando Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero, Gerardo Hernandez and Ramon Labañino were on hand for the event, joined by relatives and representatives of state institutions and mass organizations.

Speakers at the ceremony highlighted the international solidarity movement's demand for their release, and the Cuban people´s marches and rallies lead by the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, calling for the return of the patriots to their homeland.

Recalling the years of imprisonment, Gerardo Hernandez said: "Twenty years ago at this time they interrogated us in FBI cells.  The U.S. government asked us to betray our values and our ideas and that we move to their side. But what we were doing in the U.S., we were not doing it on a whim, or just for the sake of an adventure.  Every Cuban knows, by first and last names, who the victims of terrorism are.  We were protecting our people.”

At the gathering, renowned Cuban intellectual and former president of the National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcon, recalled the protracted judicial process of their case, and essential elements that led to the return to the island of the Cuban Five, which was completed on December 17, 2014.