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North of Havana: The Untold Story of Dirty Politics, Secret Diplomacy, and the Trial of the Cuban Five
From one of America's leading legal minds, a riveting look at the U.S.-Cuban relationship seen through the lens of a nearly impossible caseDuring his distinguished career, Martin Garbus has established himself as a well-known trial lawyer representing the likes of Daniel Ellsberg and Leonard Peltier. But there is no story Garbus wants to tell more than that of his most challenging representing five Cuban spies marooned in the U.S. prison system and his efforts to get them out.
North of Havana tells the story of a spy ring sent by Cuba in the early 1990s to infiltrate anti-Communist extremists in Miami. Erroneously charged by the U.S. government in connection with the 1996 shootdown of two planes circulating anti-Castro leaflets over Havana, the spies—in the absence of evidence—were convicted in 2000 of conspiracy to commit espionage and murder. Caught up in the sweep of history, the Cuban Five, as they became known, played a central role over the next decade in the recent thaw in Cuban-American relations.
Set in Miami and Havana, North of Havana is a mesmerizing tale of international intrigue, espionage, and political gamesmanship that continues to play a shaping role in American foreign policy and presidential elections. In the process, the books shows how the justice system can be, and is, subverted for political purposes and gives readers insight into one of the most fascinating legal cases of our times.
North of Havana tells the story of a spy ring sent by Cuba in the early 1990s to infiltrate anti-Communist extremists in Miami. Erroneously charged by the U.S. government in connection with the 1996 shootdown of two planes circulating anti-Castro leaflets over Havana, the spies—in the absence of evidence—were convicted in 2000 of conspiracy to commit espionage and murder. Caught up in the sweep of history, the Cuban Five, as they became known, played a central role over the next decade in the recent thaw in Cuban-American relations.
Set in Miami and Havana, North of Havana is a mesmerizing tale of international intrigue, espionage, and political gamesmanship that continues to play a shaping role in American foreign policy and presidential elections. In the process, the books shows how the justice system can be, and is, subverted for political purposes and gives readers insight into one of the most fascinating legal cases of our times.
257 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 4, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 29, 2019
Dirty politics at its finest.
July 18, 2019
Disclaimer: I received this book from GoodReads as part of the First Reads program.
This is a book about a part of American history that I wasn't familiar with, either through my inattention or under reporting in my part of the country at the time. It begins describing a group of Cuban exiles called "Brothers to the Rescue", who fly private planes between Florida and Cuba, allegedly to spot people who are trying to defect from Cuba and help them. In reality, they were trying to provoke the Cuban government by flying into Cuban airspace and dropping anti-Castro leaflets. Eventually, the Cuban government gets tired of it, and two of the planes are shot down by military jets. This, of course, provokes an outburst from the Cuban ex-patriot community in Florida. The US government arrests a group of low-rent Cuban spies and, incredibly, charges them with with not only espionage, for which they are absolutely guilty, but the murder of the pilots, which is blatantly ridiculous. After a scam trial, the five are sentenced to long prison sentences. The leader of the group is sentenced to two life sentences. The book is written by the lawyer who took up the case many years later, and describes his attempts to get the prisoners freed. Despite many, many roadblocks, which are described well in the book, he eventually gets the remaining three prisoners released from jail so that they can return to Cuba. This is an interesting story, well written, about a part of American history that occurred during my lifetime, but which I knew nothing about. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in recent American history (they were released during the Obama administration) and anyone interested in Cuban-American relations.
This is a book about a part of American history that I wasn't familiar with, either through my inattention or under reporting in my part of the country at the time. It begins describing a group of Cuban exiles called "Brothers to the Rescue", who fly private planes between Florida and Cuba, allegedly to spot people who are trying to defect from Cuba and help them. In reality, they were trying to provoke the Cuban government by flying into Cuban airspace and dropping anti-Castro leaflets. Eventually, the Cuban government gets tired of it, and two of the planes are shot down by military jets. This, of course, provokes an outburst from the Cuban ex-patriot community in Florida. The US government arrests a group of low-rent Cuban spies and, incredibly, charges them with with not only espionage, for which they are absolutely guilty, but the murder of the pilots, which is blatantly ridiculous. After a scam trial, the five are sentenced to long prison sentences. The leader of the group is sentenced to two life sentences. The book is written by the lawyer who took up the case many years later, and describes his attempts to get the prisoners freed. Despite many, many roadblocks, which are described well in the book, he eventually gets the remaining three prisoners released from jail so that they can return to Cuba. This is an interesting story, well written, about a part of American history that occurred during my lifetime, but which I knew nothing about. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in recent American history (they were released during the Obama administration) and anyone interested in Cuban-American relations.
August 23, 2023
I read this after Morais’ The Last Soldiers of the Cold War because after reading that book, I was left wanting more information about the trial, appeals, and the eventual release.
I was not a fan of the first 60% or so of this book. Garbus goes on tangents that I believe were unnecessary and he spends too long on his personal opinions, which causes the presentation of research to feel rushed. At times, I felt like he had a bit of a savior complex.
For me, chapters 19-26 were the best part of the book. Those chapters are more carefully crafted and personal.
I was not a fan of the first 60% or so of this book. Garbus goes on tangents that I believe were unnecessary and he spends too long on his personal opinions, which causes the presentation of research to feel rushed. At times, I felt like he had a bit of a savior complex.
For me, chapters 19-26 were the best part of the book. Those chapters are more carefully crafted and personal.
September 18, 2020
Short but concise and very eye opening
I had an idea about Cuban - US relations and the Elián Gonzalez case, however I didn’t know much about the Cuban 5 and I found it very interesting.
I had an idea about Cuban - US relations and the Elián Gonzalez case, however I didn’t know much about the Cuban 5 and I found it very interesting.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews