Open Letter to Barack Obama in support of Ana Belen Montes

To the President of the United States, Mr. Barack Obama,

From the International Movement of Solidarity with Mrs. Ana Belen Montes.

Through this letter, hundreds of citizens of the world, not representing any Government, are asking you to first, assure more humane conditions to Mrs. Ana Belen Montes, inmate 25037-016 in the Federal Medical Center Prison in Carswell, since:

1) This woman, already close to 60 years of age, has now served more than half of her sentence with a very good behavior, without committing any infractions of prison rules during her imprisonment.

2) The temporal Special Administrative Measures specified in the plea agreement (restricting her access to computers), allowed her the chance to become a writer, to be filmed, to have personal contacts (either through electronic, public or private mail), and even to have relations with individuals from other nations, provided that such activities would be, at all times, under the strict supervision of the DIA and the FBI and/or other intelligence community representatives.

3) She has not broken any prison regulations or engaged in any form of misconduct that would justify punish her by keeping her in total isolation for over 15 years already; besides, isolation units can be legally used only for a given period of time, not indefinitely.

Moreover, eventually you can grant a Presidential Pardon to Mrs. Ana Belen Montes, since:

1) Although she did use her position in the Defense Department to assist Cuba in defending itself against the US’ belligerent actions, she did so in the greater interest of seeing peace, harmony and friendship between the two countries, and did not harm anyone through her actions.

2) She was someone particularly interested in the normalization of relations between the USA and Cuba, as has been progressively implemented since December 17th 2014. If you, Mr. President, declared: “The United States is encouraged by the intention, (…) to open up to respectful relations and to cooperation between our two people and governments”, Ana Belen Montes said fourteen years earlier: “My greatest hope would be to see friendly relations emerging between the United States and Cuba.” If Mr. Secretary of State John Kerry declared in 2015: “We are determined to live as good neighbors based on mutual respect, and we would like to see the citizens of the United States and of Cuba turn towards the future with hope”, back in 2002 Ana wished: “that our government (…) gives up its hostility towards Cuba and works together with Havana, impregnated with a spirit of tolerance, of respect and of mutual comprehension.” Obviously, she is far from being a common criminal or a mercenary spy, but a pacifist.

3) Furthermore, US-Cuban relations have enjoyed a favorable upturn, and the Republic of Cuba has been removed from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, with the consensus of the Intelligence community of the United States, and implicit in this official pronouncement is the reality that Mrs. Ana Belen Montes is no threat to the National Security of the United States.

Taking the preceding factors into account, we request to you the following leniencies:

1. An adjustment of Ana Montes’ present conditions of incarceration to the ones originally stated in the judgment, with the devolution to her of her right to supervised friendship, and a lessening of the extreme inaccessibility measures surrounding her person.

2. Her sentence to be commuted or reduced, in view of her good behavior throughout 14 years of imprisonment.

And the possibility of considering her for a Presidential pardon, since she has no possibility of reoffending.

Many persons in the world will forever thank for such a noble gesture.

Respectfully, signatories from: (please sign in the comments section below)

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