CUBAN EXILE TERRORISM
REF:
Metro Dade County, Organized Crime Bureau (OCB) File on
Terrorism
[Handwritten note: "Summary of Dawson talks 6/18. 19/79"]
CUBAN EXILE TERRORISM
Since May 25, 1977, in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, there have
been 24
bombings and attempted bombings. Actually, since 1970,
there have
been 92 terrorist incidents in the Miami area alone.
65 of these
attacks were bombings or attempted bombings. Others
were murders
of Cuban exiles for political reasons. Nineteen of
these
incidents were armed expeditions attempted or carried out
against Cuba
or its allies.
San Juan, Puerto Rico, has had 43 Cuban exile terrorist
incidents since
1970. Of these, 41 were bombings and 2 were shooting
murders.
New York City has had 25 of these terrorist incidents since
1970.
The Newark area has suffered approximately 16 terrorist
incidents since 1970; 13 of these incidents were bombings.
In Washington, D.C., since September 21, 1976, Cuban exile
terrorists
have blown up the car in which former Chilean Ambassador to
the U.S.,
ORLANDO LETELIER, was driving.
This bombing killed LETELIER and his passenger, RONNI
MOFFIT.
In September, 1977, Cuban Exiles were responsible for the
bombing of
the Soviet Aeroflot office in Washington, as well as for the
detonation
of a small bomb on the Ellipse, near the White House.
As recently
as May 19, 1979, a bomb exploded at the office of the Cuban
Interest
Section in Washington, D.C.
Cuban exile terrorists have blown up ships in the Miami
Harbor; they
have placed bombs on Russian ships in Puerto Rico and in New
Jersey;
they have blown up an aircraft in the air, killing all 73
souls on
board; they have placed a bomb on an airliner in Miami, this
bomb being
set to explode while the plane was in the air, full of
passengers; they
planted a bomb in a car owned by a former Cuban Senator and
later the
editor of a newspaper in Miami, killing him instantly; they
have blown
off both legs of the News Director of the largest radio
station in
Florida. In March of this year (1979), they placed a
bomb in a
suitcase which detonated as it was being placed aboard a TWA
747 bound
from New York to Los Angeles. The passengers were already
aboard the
jet when the explosion occurred, injuring 4 baggage
handlers.
In one 24-hour period in December, 1975, a Cuban exile
terrorist placed
8 bombs in the Miami, Florida area. Most of these
bombs were
placed in Government buildings such as Post Offices, Social
Security
Offices, the State Attorney's office in Miami, and even in
the Miami
FBI Office.
There have also been several political shootings attributed
to Cuban exile terrorists.
A very well known person in the Miami area who was slain on
April 12,
1974, was JOSE DE LA TORRIENTE. Mr. TORRIENTE had retired as
Vice
President of Collins Radio and was living in Coral Gables,
Florida. In 1970 he formed "Plan Torriente" which was
a plan
which formed an organization to overthrow the government of
Cuba.
He held rallies in various cities throughout the U.S.,
collected
hundreds of thousands of dollars, and traveled extensively
throughout
the U.S., Latin America and Europe to raise money for an
invasion of
Cuba. In 1971 numerous articles appeared in the Miami
press
exposing TORRIENTE as the president of a housing development
and using
funds collected for personal use. Later the Cuban
exile community
in Miami severely criticized TORRIENTE for having failed in
his plan to
invade Cuba.
On April 12, 1974, while TORRIENTE was watching evening TV
in the
living room of his home, he was shot and killed by someone
firing
through the window of his house.
Another notorious shooting was that of LUCIANO NIEVES on
February 21,
1975. NIEVES, who had been a captain in FIDEL CASTRO'S
army,
defected and went to live in Miami. While in Miami
NIEVES
announced that a revolutionary congress would be held
between his group
and representatives of the Cuban Government to discuss
peaceful
co-existence. After that announcement he became a
controversial
figure. In February, 1975, while in the parking lot of
a hospital
in Miami, he was shot and killed. Several members of a
now
defunct terrorist group named "Pragmatistas" were arrested
and
convicted of this murder which had been committed because of
NIEVES'
advocacy of co-existence with the regime of FIDEL CASTRO.
Several other well-known Cuban exiles have been shot, such
as RAMON
DONESTEVES ( on April 13, 1976 ), in Miami; ALDO VERA
SERAFIN in San
Juan ( on October 25, 1976 ), and JUAN JOSE PERUYERO ( on
January 7,
1977 ), in Miami. He was a former president of Brigade
2506.
Another well-publicized killing in Miami was that of ROLANDO
MASFERRER.
MASFERRER had been a senator in Cuba, but was best known for
a small
army he commanded in Cuba, known as "Masferrer's
Tigers". He used
this small army prior to CASTRO'S assumption of power in
Cuba to best
down any factions which opposed the Cuban government.
In Miami he
was owner and editor of a Spanish language newspaper named
"Libertad". On October 31, 1975, he was blown up by a
bomb when
he started his car parked at his home.
Having given a summary of the seriousness of Cuban exile
terrorism, we should take a look at the reasons for such a
problem.
When FIDEL CASTRO assumed power in Cuba on January 1, 1959,
most of the
inhabitants of Cuba probably backed him because, after all,
he had
deposed FULGENCIO BATISTA, a tyrannic dictator.
However, after a
few months it slowly became apparent that FIDEL CASTRO was
installing a
communist regime in Cuba, and for this reason, hundred of
thousands of
Cubans began leaving the island. This exodus, which is
continuing
to a lesser degree even now, furnishes the terrorist with a
base of
support, as terrorists do not operate in a vacuum; they
require
political, emotional and physical support.
There are now over 540,000 Cuban exiles in the Miami
area. Cuban
exiles make over 53% of the population of the City of Miami,
and over
60% of the City of Hialeah.
There are approximately 30,000 Cubans living in Puerto Rico;
Los Angeles and Chicago each have about 30,000.
In other words, there are some 800,000 Cuban exiles living
in the U.S.,
and there are over 300 political prisoners and their
families arriving
from Cuba every month.
In addition, Venezuela, Mexico, Argentina and Chile also
have Cuban communities.
While the great majority of these Cuban exiles respect the
law and find
terrorism repugnant, a few, fired with hope of one day
returning to
Cuba, a Cuba without CASTRO, have turned militant and
declared war on
the CASTRO regime. This is a terrorist war which, as
we have
seen, has been characterized by bombings of diplomatic
installations of
Cuba and her allies in this country and abroad, attacks on
shipping of
Cuba and her allies, attacks on Cuban aircraft, attacks on
people who
carry the real or imagined label of communists, and attacks
on people
and organizations, including law enforcement who speak out
or take
action against their terrorist tactics.
At this juncture, let us examine the various anti-CASTRO
terrorist groups, and some of the activities attributed to
them.
For the first few years of the CASTRO regime, the United
States
Government obviously was assisting Cuban exiles in their
fight to
topple the communist government of Cuba. The U.S.
Government
supported the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, and
later
supported other Cuban exile groups in their missions against
Cuba. Because of this U.S. support there was no
terrorism as such
until the end of the 1960s, when the various Cuban exile
groups began
to realize that the U.S. Government was withdrawing support
for their
anti-CASTRO causes. At that time, in December, 1967,
ORLANDO
BOSCH AVILA, a pediatrician living in Miami, was organizing
a terrorist
group known as "Accion Cubana" (Cuban Action). This
group also
used the name "Cuban Power". This group began by
placing bombs at
Post Offices in New Jersey and in New York City in December,
1967. Then in January, 1968, in Miami, this
organization, "Cuban
Power", placed a bomb aboard a B-25 cargo plane. This
bomb
exploded while the plane was on the ground. The reason
for
bombing this airplane was that it was to carry cargo to
Mexico, which
BOSCH felt was for reshipment to Cuba. During this
same month,
January, 1968, there were 3 other bombings at various
business
establishments in Miami which engaged in shipping medical
supplies to
Cuba. In February, 1968, a high explosive bomb blew up
at the
Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C.. This "Cuban
Power" group,
which numbered about 15 persons directly involved in these
bombings,
were responsible for over 50 bombings in the U.S. in
1968. During
that period this group bombed:
British freighter "Cranwood" off Key West in May, 1968.
Japanese freighter "Asaka Maru" at Tampa, Florida, in May,
1968.
Japanese freighter "Mikagesan Maru" on June 1, 1968.
British freighter "Caribbean Venture" in August, 1968.
Spanish ship "Coromoto" in September, 1968.
In August, 1968, information was obtained to the effect that
a bomb had
been placed on a British freighter, the "Lancastrian
Prince".
This ship had departed New Orleans, Louisiana, on its way to
England. When located it was about 300 mile east of
Miami,
Florida. The information about the possibility of a
bomb being
attached to its hull was broadcast to the Captain who
brought the ship
back off the coast from Miami. A bomb attached to the
hull of the
ship was retrieved and disarmed. Fortunately, the bomb
had not
detonated and we were able to obtain fingerprints from
newspapers used
as packing material in this bomb. Dr. BOSCH and his
band of
terrorists then decided to shoot at a Polish ship docked in
Miami in
September, 1968. They shot at it with a 57mm
recoilless rifle,
but as the projectile was old, it only made a large dent in
the ship.
In mid-Summer, 1968, some Cuban Action (Cuban Power) members
participated in the bombings of 5 offices in Los Angeles,
California. These were 2 airline ticket offices, 2
Mexican
Government tourists offices, and the office of an oil
company.
HECTOR CORNILLOT and JUAN GARCIA CARDENAS were subsequently
convicted
of 2 of these bombing. After CORNILLOT was released
from prison
in California he was charged with the bombing of an Air
Canada ticket
office in Miami Beach. He was sentenced to 30 years,
but this
sentence was reduced to 10 years after an appeal. He
is still in
jail, as he escaped for a few months a couple of years ago.
In October, 1968, ORLANDO BOSCH and 8 other members of his
Cuban Action
group were arrested by the FBI in Miami, for firing on or
tampering
with a vessel of foreign registry (T. 18, Sect. 2275).
This was
for the placing of the bomb on the Lancastrian Prince.
If you
will recall, I mentioned that fingerprints were found on
newspapers
inside the bomb.
BOSCH and 2 other members of his group (BARBARO BALAN and
JOSE DIAZ
MOREJON) were charged with firing the 57mm recoilless rifle
at the
Polish ship Polanica. BOSCH was also charged with
sending
threatening telegrams to the President of Mexico, to General
FRANCO of
Spain, and to the Prime Minister of Great Britain (Sir
HAROLD WILSON).
These nine persons were tried in November, 1968, in the U.S.
District
Court in Miami, and were found guilty of all counts.
Except for
BOSCH, the defendants received sentences ranging from 1 to 6
years
imprisonment. BOSCH received a 10 year sentence.
(Sentenced
12/13/68).
BOSCH, who was sentenced on December 13, 1968, was paroled
on December
15, 1972. He served 4 years, which apparently was not
long
enough, as he began planning terrorist activities
immediately upon his
release. In June, 1974, he publicly admitted having
sent package
bombs to Cuban Embassies in Lima, Peru; Madrid, Spain;
Ottawa, Canada,
and Buenos Aires, Argentina. The bomb sent to Lima
injured a girl
who received the bomb, and the bomb sent to Madrid exploded
injuring a
Spanish postal employee. A parole violator's warrant
was obtained
for his arrest in June, 1974, but he fled the U.S. before he
could be
arrested. BOSCH then traveled to various countries in
Latin
America, where he lived for a few months at a time.
These
countries included Chile, Costa Rica and Venezuela. As
you will
recall, a bomb was placed on a Cubana Airlines airplane in
Barbados in
October, 1976. The bomb exploded shortly after takeoff
and the
plane crashed while trying to return to the airport.
All 73
passengers and crewmen were killed. BOSCH and others
were
arrested for this crime, and they are still in prison in
Venezuela.
The reason I mention this incident is that after BOSCH was
arrested by
Venezuelan authorities for this airplane bombing, Cuban
exile
terrorists within a 9-month period placed 5 bombs in
Venezuelan
establishments. The targets were 2 VIASA (Venezuelan
Airlines)
ticket offices (in San Jan and Miami), a Venezuelan Air
Force DC-9 at
the Miami International Airport, the Venezuelan Mission to
the U.N. in
New York City, and the Venezuelan Consulate in San Juan.
After BOSCH was jailed in October, 1968, there were very few
bombings
or terrorist activities until after his release in December,
1972. 1973 was a slow year because it took him a while
to stir up
members of the Cuban community in Miami who had a propensity
for
terrorism. In 1974, in Miami alone, there were 14
bombings.
A new group of terrorists was beginning to emerge.
In March, 1974, LUIS CRESPO and HUMBERTO LOPEZ, JR. were
constructing a
book bomb when it accidentally detonated. Both were
severely
wounded, one of them losing a hand, the sight of one eye,
and other
serious injuries. This book bomb was to be mailed to a
Cuban
Embassy in some foreign country.
HUMBERTO LOPEZ, JR. had been released on bond, fled the
United States,
and went to the Dominican Republic. On October 4,
1975, he was
deported from the Dominican Republic and was arrested by the
FBI on his
arrival in Miami for bond default. Only 2 days later,
on October
6, 1975, a high explosive bomb detonated at the Dominican
Consulate on
Brickell Avenue in Miami.
For security reasons, LOPEZ was then moved by the U.S.
Marshals to the
Broward County Jail. Four days after the bomb went off
in the
Dominican Consulate, a small bomb exploded in front of the
Broward
County Court House.
Then 7 days later a high explosive bomb exploded at the main
entrance
to the Miami International Airport. This bomb had been
placed in
a locker. This location was close to the ticket
counter of the
Dominican Airline. Then on October 20, 1975, a bomb
was found at
the Dominican Airlines ticket office on Biscayne Boulevard
in
Miami. This bomb did not go off because of a weak
battery.
It had been set to go off at midnight.
So now, within 16 days of the deportation of terrorist
HUMBERTO LOPEZ,
JR. to the U.S., we have 4 bombings to protest his
deportation and
arrest.
HUMBERTO LOPEZ, JR. and LUIS CRESPO were part of a new
group
which bore the name "Frente de Liberacion Nacional de Cuba"
(National
Liberation Front of Cuba) or better known as the FLNC.
This
terrorist organization has been involved in scores of
bombings over the
past few years.
At this point a series of bombings which occurred in Miami
in 1975 and 1976 should be discussed.
As previously mentioned, on October 17, 1975, a high
explosive bomb
detonated in a suitcase locker at the main entrance of the
Miami
International Airport. On December 3 & 4 of the
same year, 8
bombs went off. The targets were several government
buildings,
including the FBI Office, Post Office buildings and the
local
prosecutor's office, as well as the Miami PD. Among
hundreds and
hundreds of leads covered, descriptive data of people
believed involved
in Cuban exile terrorism in one way or another was sent to
FBI
Headquarters. This is the value of working these
groups for
years. Generally it was known who the people
were. Hundred
of names were sent to the FBI Latent Fingerprints Section so
that
fingerprints and palm prints found on items of evidence on
those
bombings could be compared with fingerprint cards of these
individuals. Three weeks later FBI Headquarters
advised that
fingerprints on military communiques claiming credit for
these bombings
were those of ROLANDO OTERO. His fingerprint was also
found
inside the locker where the bomb had exploded at the Miami
International Airport 2 months earlier. OTERO was a
member of
Brigade 2506.
Now that we knew who was involved in those bombings, it was
just a
matter of hard detailed work to gather enough additional
evidence to
prove an air-tight case against him. However, he fled
to the
Dominican Republic before he could be arrested. He
then went to
Venezuela, and then to Chile from where he was deported to
the United
States in June, 1976. OTERO was tried for these 9
bombings in the
U.S. District Court in Jacksonville, Florida, and was found
not guilty.
In January, 1977, he was then tried in a State of Florida
Court in Fort
Walton Beach, at which time he was found guilty of the
airport bombing
and sentenced to 45 years. OTERO in now free, walking
the streets
on Miami. The judge who tried OTERO released him on
bond a few
months ago, pending his appeal.
Another small group in Miami which was responsible for a few
bombings
is that of ANTONIO DE LA CORVA. In May, 1976, a confidential
informant
advised that he and others were going to place a bomb in an
adult
bookstore in the Little Havana Section of Miami. This
store was
surveilled by the FBI and local law enforcement officials
and DE LA
COVA was apprehended as he was lighting the fuse to set
off the
bomb. Two other persons who were with him were also
arrested. All were convicted. DE LA COVA was
sentenced to
65 years in prison.
After the arrest of ROLANDO OTERO and DE LA COVA and his
group, there
was not one bombing in the Miami area for over a year; not
until May,
1977. At that time, Mackey Airlines, a small airline
which flies
mostly to the Bahamas, made it known that it was interested
in flying
charter flights to Cuba. On May 25, 1977, a bomb
destroyed their
headquarters at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Within a few
hours of
this bombing the management issued a press release stating
that the
airline was no longer interested in flying to Cuba -- a
successful
operation by Cuban exile terrorists.
Another terrorists group has been part of Brigade
2506. As
previously mentioned, Brigade 2506 is comprised of
participants of the
Bay of the Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961. This
organization which
now comprises over 1000 members has its headquarters in
Miami. As
the leader of the anti-CASTRO movement, the Brigade is
always in the
forefront when any activities, most of them legal, are
carried on
against the CASTRO regime in Cuba. However, some
members of
Brigade 2506, the more militant members, have become
terrorists and
have been involved in terrorist acts such as raids against
Cuba,
violent acts against Cuban establishments and personnel
abroad, and
bombings in the Miami area. For a period in 1975 and
1976, these
terrorists within the Brigade formed the "April 17
Movement".
This name was adopted because the actual invasion of Cuba by
the
Brigade was on April 17 1961.
Another Cuban exile terrorist group which is becoming better
known at
this time is the Movimiento Nacionalista Cubano (Cuban
Nationalist
Movement). This organization, an extremely violent
one, was
organized in late 1969. GUILLERMO NOVO and his
brother, IGNACIO,
were the founders of this organization. They, along
with CNM
member ALVIN ROSS DIAZ, were recently convicted for
activities
surrounding the bombing murders of ORLANDO LETELIER and
RONNI MOFFIT in
Washington, D.C.. Two fugitives in this case, JOSE
DIONISIO
SUAREZ ESQUIVEL and VIRGILIO PAZ, are also members of the
CNM.
At the present time this organization is still involved in
terrorist activities and plans for violence.
Up to this point 5 of the Cuban exile terrorist groups have
been
mentioned. They are ORLANDO BOSCH's Cuban Action
Movement, part
of the Veterans of the Brigade 2506, the National Liberation
Front of
Cuba, the April 17th Movement which no longer exists, and
the Cuban
Nationalist Movement. The reason I stress these groups
is that in
June, 1976, representatives of each one of these
organizations met in
the Dominican Republic to form a unified action group.
The name
of this newly formed action group is CORU, which stands for
Coordinacion de Organizaciones Revolucionarias Unidas
(Coordination of
United Revolutionary Organizations), better known as CORU.
In a nutshell, this new unified or umbrella organization
composed of
Cuban exile terrorist groups, agreed to conduct terrorist
actions
designed to hurt the FIDEL CASTRO Regime in Cuba.
Specifically
they discussed names to be used to claim credit for a
terrorist
action. They mentioned kidnappings as a method of
achieving their
goals, and they discussed terrorist activities in general.
It was decided that CORU would claim responsibility for any
terrorists
acts outside the U.S.. Incidents inside the U.S. would be
attributed to
other organizations in order to throw authorities off the
track.
Consequently, attacks in the U.S. have been variously
claimed by El
Condor, Omega 7, the Pedro Luis Boitel Commandos and Cesar
Baez group.
What has happened since the creation of CORU?
Within 2 weeks there was an attempted bombing of a Cubana
airliner in Panama.
Then the attempted bombing of a Cubana airliner in Kingston,
Jamaica. A bomb was placed in a suitcase which was to
be loaded
on this airplane, but fortunately the plane was late and the
bomb
exploded before it was placed on the aircraft. (Here
see the
appendix attached hereto for a list of Cuban exile terrorist
actions
since the formation of CORU).
(Here go down list of bombings in South America and
Caribbean).
After the bombing of the Cubana airliner a CORU leader
wanted to prove
that CORU had not been destroyed as a result of the arrest
of BOSCH and
others in Venezuela for this bombing. On October 30,
1976, this
leader flew to Madrid, Spain, where 2 bombs exploded on
November 6
& 7, 1976. One of the bombs exploded in the Cubana
Airline
ticket office, another in a leftist bookstore.
As can be seen from the Appendix, the list of terrorist acts
continues to the present.
Before presenting an update of the present situation as it
involves
Cuban exile terrorists, one more case should be mentioned,
as it
involves not an attack against a diplomatic establishment
abroad, nor a
bombing in the United States; rather, this case involves a
planned
attack from Miami against the Cuban mainland or Cuban navy
patrol boats.
In early June, 1977, investigation revealed that some Cuban
exiles
associated with Brigade 2506 in Miami were planning an armed
attack
against Cuba from the United States. Surveillance of
various
suspects by U.S. Customs, the FBI, Dade County Public Safety
Department, Miami Police Department, U. S. Coast Guard and
the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for over 2 months revealed
that 7
exiles had 3 boats which they were outfitting for an attack
against the
Cuban mainland or against Cuban patrol boats on the northern
coast of
Cuba. After watching these boats make trial runs over
a few week
period, one person was arrested on August 15, 1977, and was
charged
with the unlawful possession of firearms and destructive
devices.
Also arrested at a later date were the Military Director of
Brigade
2506, and 2 other persons.
Recovered during this operation were:
2 BAR automatic rifles
1 - 20mm foreign-made cannon
1 - 50-caliber machine gun
1 - 30-caliber air-cooled machine gun
Several M-15 rifles, plus a large amount of ammunition for
these
weapons. On one of the boats was located several bags
of
military-type clothing.
After a trial in U.S. District Court in Miami on October 19,
1977, all
defendants were found not guilty of possession of automatic
weapons. In July, 1978, the Federal Judge said that
these persons
could not be tried for a violation of the Neutrality Laws as
this would
constitute double jeopardy. All are now walking the
streets of
Miami.
The Cuban exile terrorist situation as it exists at this
moment is serious.
The cauldron is bubbling. We still have the same
underlying
problem which has caused the violent actions mentioned
above.
But, in addition, there is another major problem. Last
September
and October (1978) some Cuban exiles were in contact with
the FIDEL
CASTRO Government in Cuba. Out of several meetings
came an
agreement by CASTRO to release nearly all political
prisoners in Cuba,
and allow them to also leave Cuba. Later, he also
agreed to allow
Cuban exiles in the U.S. and elsewhere to visit Cuba to see
their
relatives. Most of these exiles have not seen their
relatives for
10 to 20 years. Generally, the Cuban community in
Miami and
elsewhere was pleased. Political prisoners in Cuban
jails for up
to 20 years would be reunited, if only temporarily, with
their loved
ones in Cuba. Everything up to this point seemed to
favor
cordiality and a lessening of tensions between the Cuban
exile
community and the government of Cuba. But just the
opposite
happened within the context of terrorism.
FIDEL CASTRO said he now wanted a dialogue with what he
calls the
community. By "community" he means the Cuban exile
community. Before last October, the Cuban Government
referred to
Cuban exiles as "gusanos" ) (worms). Now they are
being called
"the community". The Cuban Government then invited 75
Cuban
exiles to Havana for a meeting with FIDEL CASTRO. This
occurred
in October of last year. These dialoguers and the
Cuban
Government reached the agreement just mentioned, and the
first group of
prisoners and their families, about 125 persons, flew to
Miami on
October 21, 1078.
Immediately the militants and terrorists started screaming
that the 75
dialoguers were traitors. A well-known Cuban exile
banker in
Miami was called a Cuban G-2 Agent and a traitor. His
bank was
picketed. There was, and is at this time in-fighting
among the
dialoguers. Some of the dialoguers don't like the
Reverend
(MANUEL) ESPINOZA. They feel he is too flamboyant,
that he may be
an intelligence agent for the Cuban Government, that he is
too
outspoken and that he is making money on Cuban exile
tours. There
are several travel agencies in Miami now and elsewhere in
the U.S.
which arrange these tours. The parent agency is named
"Havanaturs" and it is incorporated in Panama. All
tours must be
arranged through "Havanaturs". Cuban exiles believe
"Havanaturs"
is therefore an agency of the Cuban Government. There
are
basically two airline companies which fly these Cuban exile
terrorists
to Cuba: Southeast Airlines and Belize Airways.
Usually there are
3 flights a day. Two flights proceed directly from
Miami to Cuba
by Southeast, and one flight by Belize Airways flies to Cuba
by way of
Merida, Yucatan. The tours are for 1 week, and the
cost is
$850.00. This includes 7 nights in a hotel, meals and
some
entertainment.
When the flights to Cuba first started this year, they flew
through
Jamaica and Mexico, but most now fly directly from Miami to
Cuba.
When the flights first started, Cuban exiles were flying to
Cuba with
suitcases full of gifts. Women were wearing 3 & 4
dresses;
men, several pairs of trousers. Their suitcases were
filled with
transistor radios, electric fans and tape recorders.
What does all this mean in reference to Cuban exile
terrorism? It
means that the terrorists have a new and fertile ground in
which to sow
their seeds, or plant their bombs of discontent.
The dialoguers are being threatened. In Puerto Rico,
CARLOS
MUNIZ, the operator of one of these travel agencies, was
shot to death
the end of April of this year. His office had been
bombed on
January 4, 1979.
The Cuban community in exile, and particularly the
terrorists, are also
upset at the travel agencies, at the airlines and at
"Havanaturs"
because of the excessive price of the tour to Cuba: $850 for
7
days. These exiles generally go to Cuba to be with
their
families, and therefore do not spend any time at the hotels,
nor do
they eat at the hotels. However, they are charged for
this.
Another factor which really upsets the exile community is
the fact that
on May 1, 1979, the Cuban Government announced that the
exiles would
not be allowed to take most gifts to Cuba without paying
duty at Cuban
Customs. These gifts, sometimes bought with thousands
of dollars
of borrowed money, are a way of showing relatives that they
have not
been forgotten. The new law imposes taxes and other
penalties
including confiscation, that in effect limits tourists to
"personal
effects" during their visit. This infuriated many
exiles and
particularly the more violence-prone.
As a result of these factors, the terrorists are talking
tough.
There have been many bomb threats to the airlines flying to
Cuba; the
terrorists in the various groups are talking about violent
actions
against these airlines, against the dialoguers, and against
"Havanaturs". Dialoguer ESPINOZA, the Reverend, has
had a
motorcade in Miami protesting violence. The
anti-Castros are
having marches protesting the dialogues with Cuba.
How much violence will be fomented by Cuban exile terrorists
in the
foreseeable future? Nobody knows at this time.
However, the
FBI and other Federal agencies as well as local law
enforcement
agencies are devoting considerable time and manpower to
anti-Castro
terrorism in an effort to prevent violent acts and to gather
enough
information to enable the gathering of admissible evidence
to prosecute
and convict those who are responsible.
End of Page
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