[Campaign Events] [News from Cuba] [International news and events] [UK Events] [Reviews]
The U.S. government has taken almost no action against Cuban emigré terrorists who operate freely from U.S. territory, despite the fact that that country pretends to condemn terrorism around the world. Further, when Cuban defectors have hijacked planes and boats and/or killed people in the process, U.S. has refused to return them to Cuba for prosecution and, in fact, have released them with at most a gentle verbal slap.
Starting with the Bay of Pigs invasion, in April 1961, Florida-based terrorist organizations have repeatedly invaded Cuban territory (air space, waters and land).
The most awful terrorist action occurred on October 6, 1976, when a bomb planted aboard a "Cubana Airlines" plane exploted after the passenger jet took off from Barbados, killing all 73 people aboard-57 Cubans (including the entire fencing team), 11 Guyanese and 5 North Koreans.
On October 14 Cuban exiles Orlando Bosch (a former CIA agent) and Luis Posada Carriles, along with two Venezuelans, were arrested, charged with the bombing and imprisioned in Venezuela. They were acquitted in September 1980 because of friendly ties to the Venezuelan government. Cuba protested, saying that Venezuela knew they were "acquitting the guilty".
The prosecution appealed and in November 1981 the Venezuelan government asked Cuba for further evidence against the four and Cuba complied in December. There were two more acquittals of Bosch, the third on August 7, 1987.
The prosecution did not appeal, which meant Bosch was allowed to leave the country. He arrived in Miami in February 1988 and was taken into custody for a 1974 parole violation (Bosch had been convicted of a 1968 bazooka attack on a Polish ship in Miami and sending death threats to the heads of state of France, Italy and Spain because their countries trade with Cuba).
On June 23, 1989, the U.S. Justice Department ruled that Bosch
should be deported because of his record of terrorist activities, including 30 acts of sabotage in the U.S., Cuba, Puerto Rico and Panama from 1961 to 1968, as well as the attempted assassination in 1975 of the Cuban Ambassador to Argentina.
In August, the Cuban government requested that he be returned to Cuba. Ileana Ros-Lehtinene, who became the first Cuban American elected to Congress, lauded Bosch as a hero during her campaign (managed by Jeb Bush), and demanded his release. In November 1989 a federal court upheld the deportation order, but on July 17, 1990, the Justice Department reversed itself and freed Bosch, evidently as a result of lobbying by Republicans Ros-Lehtinen and Florida Senator Connie Mack, as well as by Jeb Bush. Bosch agreed to 14 conditions, including the renunciation of terrorism and the wearing of a monitoring device, but in a news conference following his release, he called the deal with Justice "riduculous" and "a farce", saying "They purchased the chain but they don't have the monkey".
Exile terrorist actions over the years have included the assassinations of Cuban Americans who supported dialogue between Cuba and the U.S., including Eulalio Jose Negrin in New Jersey in November 1979 and Carlos Muniz Varela in Puerto Rico in April 1979. One act of terrorism struck home: the March 1973 bombing of the Center for Cuban Studies in New York City while its director was inside.
In June 1990 the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture in Miami was bombed simply for exhibiting art by Cubans still living in Cuba.
December 20, 1991: Three members of "Comandos L", a terrorist organization of Cuban exiles, are captured in Cuba after landing their boat carrying weapons. This is one of dozens of raids against Cuba by "Comandos L" since its founding in 1962.
July 4, 1992: Without asking Cuba's permission, the U.S. Coast Guard enters Cuban waters to rescue members of "Comandos L" after their heavily-armed boat malfunctions during one of their secret missions.
October 7, 1992: From an offshore speedboat, a group of "Comandos L" fires shots at the Hotel Melia on Varadero Beach. When Cuba formally protests to the State Department, the protest is referred to the Justice Department, which in turn asks the FBI to investigate. Cuban officials present to the Chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana two volumes of evidence, including eyewitness accounts, photographs, and bullets taken from the Hotel Melia. "Comandos L" carries out at least eight raids against Cuba in 1992.
December 29, 1992: Cuban pilot Carlos Cancio Porcel and several other people with their families hijack a Cuban airliner to Miami, chloroforming a security guard and tying up the co-pilot. Cancio is detained but released when the U.S. Justice Department rules that his action did not constitute a hijacking.
January 7, 1993: At a news conference, Tony Bryant, leader of "Comandos L", announces plans for more raids against targets in Cuba, especially hotels. Warning tourists to stay off the island, he declared, "From his point on, we're at war", adding, "The Neutrality Act doesn't exist".
January 7, 1993: A group of Cubans hijacks a fishing boat to Florida after tying up the boat's captain. The U.S. Attorney's office decides that there is "no basis for prosecution".
October 1993: According to the Associated Press, Andres Nazario Sargen, head of "Alpha 66", boasts that "Alpha 66" has staged five recent missions inside Cuba. He adds that Tony Bryant, Chief of "Comandos L" is "learning where every general lives" in Cuba and "they will be targeted to be eliminated".
July 13, 1995: In Cuban waters, several boats organized by "Brothers to the Rescue" turn around and return to Florida after one of the boats collides with a Cuban Border Patrol vessel. Cuba says that 11 boats, six small planes, and two helicopters have penetrated Cuba's water and air space. One airplane flew over the coastal zone of Havana, and dropped leaflets over Havana, urging protests against the Cuban government. Cuban officials warn that any aircraft which violates Cuban airspace risks being shot down. When "Brothers to the Rescue" attempts another such voyage on September 2, they turn back after one boat sinks 10 miles off Key West, dumping 47 people into rough seas and causing one death. The U.S. Coast Guard comes to their rescue.
January 13, 1996: "Brothers to the Rescue" again drops thousands of leaflets with anti-government slogans over Havana. According to AP, the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating Jose Basulto, head of the organization and a veteran of the Bay of Pigs invasion, for violating Cuban airspace in this incident and the July 1995 incident. The case is still pending.
This is a part of a Press Release delivered by "CUBA Update" on February 25, 1996. Historical chronology information from Jane Franklin, author of "The Cuban Revolution and the United States: A Chronological History" (Ocean Press/Center for Cuban Studies, 1993.