Fidel Castro meets freed "Cuban Five"

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has met with five Cubans who spent years in U.S. prisons and returned home recently, official Granma daily reported Monday.

In an article published on the Granma, Castro wrote "I met with them on Saturday, Feb. 28, 73 days after they landed in Cuba."

Castro, 88, said he waited until now to meet with the men -- decorated last week with medals of honor and bravery for having sacrificed years of their lives for their country -- to allow them to join their families and friends.

"I was happy for hours," the former leader said about the meeting, adding "I listened to the marvelous tales of heroism from the group headed by Gerardo (Hernandez)."

In 2001, Hernandez, along with Ramon Labanino, Fernando Gonzalez, Rene Gonzalez and Antonio Guerrero, were convicted by a U.S. court on charges of espionage and given long prison terms.

Rene and Fernando completed their 13-year and 15-year terms respectively, and Hernandez, Labanino and Guerrero were freed as part of a goodwill prisoner exchange to mark the Dec. 17, 2014 joint U.S.-Cuba announcement of restoring ties.

In his article, Castro reiterated Cuba's official defense of the so-called "Cuban Five" that they never posed any harm to the United States and aimed only "to prevent terrorist acts against (Cuba), organized by the U.S. intelligence agencies that the world only knows too well."

The five were declared Heroes of the Republic of Cuba at a Feb. 24 ceremony presided over by Cuba's current leader Raul Castro. Endi