Italian professor Luciano Vasapollo stated that in that meeting, Labañino thanked the Holy See for its support for his release in 2014 after being unjustly imprisoned in the United States for 16 years along with four other Cuban anti-terrorist fighters.
Vasapollo, dean of Economics at La Sapienza University in Rome and co-founder of the Italian chapter of the Network in Defense of Humanity requested and received Pope Francis’ intervention on behalf of this cause.
After arriving in Italy on April 12 evening, Labañino participated in an event organized by groups of solidarity with Cuba on Saturday, the first of the activities planned in the broad agenda of this visit.
Labañino, who is also the vice president of the National Association of Economists and Accountants of Cuba (ANEC, in Spanish), began his speech with a reference to the legacy of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, who he said, “taught us to think, to fight,” and to analyze the complex international situation.
Labañino expects to visit several cities in this country, including the southern cities of Naples, in the Campania region, and Bari, in Puglia, on Tuesday. He will attend on Wednesday a ceremony at La Sapienza University in Rome, where Professor Luciano Vasapollo will receive the Honoris Causa Doctorate Degree in Political Sciences from the University of Havana by Miriam Nicado, dean of that higher education center.
He will also meet with Cuban friendship groups in the northern cities of Pisa, Bologna, Venice, and Turin from April 18 to 21 and conclude his tour with a forum at the Cuban Embassy in Rome on April 22.
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