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Explosions struck three tourist hotels and a renowned restaurant in the capital of Havana on August 28th, killing an Italian tourist.
The first and worst explosion took place at midday in a bar of the Copacabana hotel. Fabio Di Celmo, a 32-year-old tourist staying in the Copacabana, was killed in the blast.
Two smaller blasts occurred within 45 minutes of the first, at the Chateau and Triton hotels. There were no injuries
The fourth explosion occurred late at night at the La Bodeguita del Medio restaurant, the legendary hangout of the writer Ernest Hemingway.
The blasts followed a number of earlier incidents in the summer and a picture is emerging of an orchestrated campaign aimed at Cuba's booming tourist industry.
Reports by Steve Wilkinson and Javier Molina in London and Prensa Latina reporters in Havana
THE Cuban government said those responsible for the bomb attacks were "terrorists" who shared the same objectives as the United States' government in its efforts to destroy the Revolution.
Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina told reporters in Havana that Cuba would produce evidence to show who was behind the blasts in three hotels and the famous La Bodeguita del Medio restaurant in Havana in late August.
An Italian businessman was killed in one of the hotel explosions, the first fatality in a series bomb attacks on Cuban tourist spots in the last few months.
Condemning the bombings, Robaina said they were completely in line with Washington's policy of trying to "strangle the Revolution and the economic and political life of the nation."
Robaina said the bombings, including similar attacks in July and August, were being "forged and orchestrated in Miami." He expressed regret for the death of the Italian businessman Mr Fabio di Celmo.
The Italian reported killed in one of the hotels was the first fatality in a mysterious spate of recent bombings aimed at targets in Cuba's tourist industry, the island's fastest growing economic sector.
"Cuba is not going to forgive, Cuba is not going to allow anything to make it lose the peace and security that has always reigned here," he said, adding that all necessary measures would be taken to prevent further attacks.
The United States denied the accusations and said it did not condone violent opposition in Cuba
"The United States is committed to supporting a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba,'' State Department spokesman James Foley said.
"It does not in any way condone the use of violence as a means of achieving that transition or of demonstrating political opposition," he told reporters.
But Robaina responded by saying: "The U.S. government should not be condemning what's happening here but should be condemning what's happening on its own territory," evoking the long standing history of Cuban exile attacks on Cuba launched from the United States.
Robaina indicated that the fourth explosion, at the popular Havana restaurant Bodeguita del Medio, made famous by U.S. novelist Ernest Hemingway who used to drink there, had provided Cuba with a breakthrough in its efforts to halt the bombings. "There are some elements, some things," he said, but did not elaborate.
Cuba's Armed Forces Minister General Raul Castro said on Friday the island's security forces would track down and find like "a needle in a haystack" those responsible.
Raul, the younger brother of Fidel, said after a political rally in the southern port of Cienfuegos that those who had carried out the bombings were "provoking the anger of the people."
"People must have confidence. But I can assure you with full responsibility that our Interior Ministry can find a needle in a haystack, just as it has done in the past," he added.
The Armed Forces Minister did not say whether any arrests had been made so far in connection with the bomb blasts.
In a statement, Cuba's Interior Ministry accused the U.S. government of allowing these exile groups to act with impunity against objectives in Cuba.
"For decades, the U.S. authorities have encouraged, concealed and tolerated terrorism against Cuba," it said.
It added that "mafioso and terrorist organizations" in Miami, while they "hypocritically" regretted the death of the Italian visitor, had voiced support for methods like the bombings "in warlike language inciting subversion."
"With firmness, serenity and intelligence and full confidence in victory, our people will know how to confront these cowardly and brutal attacks," the ministry said.