Lucious Walker

In 1992 Rev. Lucius Walker Jr., then the Executive Director of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), formed Pastors for Peace. An annual pilgrimage of American aid volunteers to Cuba in defiance of the U.S. government's nearly half-century trade embargo. Although Rev Walker passed away on September 7, 2010, his work lives on.

Starting July 2nd, this years Caravan to Cuba gets underway. There are 14 routes this year and they will visit 130 U.S. and Canadian cities. At every stop they will educate people about the blockade and collect construction supplies and tools, medical supplies and equipment, as well as educational and cultural supplies which will be donated to our sisters and brothers in Cuba.

Pastors for Peace offers concerned U.S. citizens an opportunity to demonstrate and enact an alternative foreign policy based on justice and mutual respect. More than 50 Pastors for Peace Caravans have traveled to Mexico, Central America and Cuba - delivering life giving aid and organizing at home for a more just policy toward our neighbors.

Find Out How You Can Help: www.pastorsforpeace.org

Cuban 5

This September will mark 13 years of unjust imprisonment of five men; Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez, and Rene Gonzalez, known as the “Cuban Five,” after their frame-up on federal charges here in the United States.

It is important to know the role that the U.S. government has played in supporting anti-Cuba terrorists, in attempting to subvert Cuban society. In 1959, after U.S. supported Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown, Miami became a base of C.I.A. operations against Cuba and its revolution.

Many of Batista’s tyrannical police and army torturers took refuge in Miami. The C.I.A. recruited and trained 4,000 Cuban right wing exiles to impair the Castro administration and terrorize the Cuban people. Cuba’s numerous appeals to Washington regarding this matter were ignored. Consequently, the Cuban Five infiltrated Cuban exile terrorist organizations in Miami, which had carried out attacks on Cuba for decades so that they could stop them.

After their arrests, the Five were illegally held in solitary confinement for 17 months before trial, and the judge denied their request to move the trial out of Miami. The Cuban Five were convicted on June 8, 2001 and sentenced from 15 years to double life. Although their convictions were overturned in federal appeals in 2005 the Bush administration appealed, and the trial was upheld.

LEARN MORE: www.freethefive.org