Mr. Fernando González Llort:

I was part of a group of five who were in prison in the United States for 16 years. We were arrested in 1998 and we left prison in 2014. Our presence in the US was due to a history of ongoing violence coming from groups based in the United States, even though US laws state that one cannot organise in a manner to bring about violence in a foreign country. It is a law which is never mentioned, the Neutrality Act. At the beginning of the triumph of the Cuban revolution, many Cubans went to southern Florida and began to organise and conspire against the revolution from there.

These groups obtain finance, weapons and logistical support in the United States of America, from where they attack Cuba and Cuban interests all across the area.

As a result of these attacks, 2,000 Cubans have been killed, while 3,000 have been mutilated. This has been ongoing for decades, since the triumph of the Cuban revolution. The US authorities that are supposed to act on these actions have never done anything to the individuals involved. Cuba has no other option but to send individuals to south Florida to identify them and discover where they are getting their armaments and logistical support. That is what we were doing in south Florida. We never set out to get any information on the US Government; that was not our objective. However, the US authorities arrested us and prosecuted us on espionage charges. I believe it was part of the historical hostility of the US Government towards our country.

An international campaign was organised, in which a lot of our colleagues in Ireland were involved. A number of Irish parliamentarians signed the petition to have us freed and express solidarity and support, for which we were deeply thankful. Little by little the truth began to emerge as to why we were in prison. Thanks to this solidarity, the factual and real information on our case began to get through and in the end we won the battle and were freed. I believe the truth imposed itself. Once again I take the opportunity to thank all of the parliamentarians and people involved in the campaign in order that I could be here today speaking to the committee. There is an inter-parliamentary solidarity committee in Cuba and the Irish Parliament also has a Cuban solidarity group. I believe every mechanism that promotes dialogue and co-operation between our two countries is important.

On international policy, I believe there are a lot of areas where we have common points. The ratification by the Irish Parliament of the EU-Cuba co-operation agreement was a very important step. The visit to Cuba by the President of Ireland was also a very significant act of solidarity. Any time a head of state visits a foreign country it is a great show of solidarity. It also shows a will to advance economic and social co-operation. It creates interest within the Irish business sector to trade with Cuba. Cuba also has a lot to offer in trade. We have a highly educated population. Sectors of the Cuban economy rely very much on the important contribution made by the knowledge economy. There is development of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors in Cuba from which Ireland could benefit hugely. Cuba could also benefit from Ireland's experience in these sectors.

In my modest opinion, Ireland and Cuba should go down those roads. I hope this Parliament will support those objectives in order that they can be made more concrete.