Carlos Lazo, the coordinator of Puentes de Amor solidarity project, who also works in favor of lifting the United States blockade against Cuba, told Prensa Latina “This decision surprises us, scandalizes us, and worries us”.
He also asked: “How is it that a person who committed a terrorist attack against an embassy in the United States, who opened fire with a rifle and endangered the lives of families and embassy staff and who was accused of four charges was acquitted by the US justice.
Lazo said that it is a tremendous irony that the United States has Cuba on a list of terrorist countries with lying justifications, meanwhile, someone who has committed violent acts against the Cuban embassy and the Cuban people is declared free of charges.
“Any Cuban with dignity, with love for his country, must be scandalized by this fact; furthermore, it establishes a precedent of impunity that those who commit acts like these will not receive the weight of justice,” he stressed.
Similar criteria were raised by Cheryl LaBash, co-president of the National Network of Solidarity with Cuba (NNOC), who added that she considers the perpetrator of the attack “a danger to himself and society.” The judge’s ruling “gives the green light to politically motivated violent crimes against Cuban embassies,” the activist emphasized. “Concerning Cuba and in other cases, the United States Government shows its willingness to violate international law and conventions,” concluded the co-president of NNOC, which brings together more than 70 organizations.
Alleging the perpetrator’s insanity, on May 1st, a judge from the District of Columbia acquitted Alexander Alazo, of Cuban origin and resident in the United States since 2010, of the four charges against him for the terrorist attack he perpetrated against the Cuban embassy in Washington four years ago.
A statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry expressed its deep concern about the decision, even though Alazo himself confessed that he had gone there with the intention of firing on whatever was in front of him, including human beings, in case they were in his line of fire. The Foreign Ministry warned that the ruling of the judge sends a dangerous message of impunity for those who propose to take violent actions against embassies in Washington.
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