The 1997 Cuba hotel bombings were a series of Militant Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles has died
''AP News'' terrorist bombing attacks on Cuban hotels organized by anti-Communist militants. The purpose of the bombing campaign was to destroy the recently resurgent Cuban tourism trade and in so doing, undermine the country's Communist government. The first and worst of the explosions took place at the Hotel Copacabana at about 11:30 AM (local time), and killed Fabio di Celmo, a 32-year-old Genoan, from Italy, and resident of Montreal, according to the

Italian Foreign Ministry The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation ( it, Ministero degli affari esteri e della cooperazione internazionale or ''MAECI'') is the foreign ministry of the government of the Italian Republic. It is also known as the Farnes ...

in Rome. Di Celmo was visiting Cuba with his father and staying in the hotel. 11 other tourists were also injured in the bombings. The hotels targeted included the

Hotel Capri The Hotel NH Capri La Habana is a historic high rise hotel located in central Havana, Cuba. History In 1955, President Batista enacted Hotel Law 2074, offering tax incentives, government loans, and casino licenses to anyone wishing to build hot ...

, Hotel Nacional de Cuba, and the

Meliá Cohiba Hotel The Meliá Cohiba Hotel is a high-rise hotel opened in 1994, located in the Vedado district of Havana, Cuba, just off the Malecón and next to the historic Hotel Habana Riviera The Hotel Habana Riviera by Iberostar, originally known as the Hava ...

. Cuban-exile and former CIA asset, Luis Posada Carriles, admitted organizing the bombings. In a taped interview with '' The New York Times'', Posada said: "It is sad that someone is dead, but we can't stop."Arrest of Cuban ex-CIA figure puts Bush in tough political spot
''San Francisco Chronicle'' Posada was reportedly disappointed with the reluctance of American news organisations to report the bombing attacks, saying "If there is no publicity, the job is useless". In March 1999 Raúl Ernesto Cruz León, who Posada admitted was a mercenary under his employment, was sentenced to death by the Cuban authorities after admitting to the attacks,Bardach, Ann Louise. ''Cuba Confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami and Havana''. p180-223. alongside fellow Salvadoran Otto René Rodríguez Llerena.'' Reuters'', 22 December 2010
Salvadoran sentenced to 30 years for Cuba bombings
/ref> The sentences were commuted in 2010 to 30 years in prison.Eurasia Review
Terrorism In Latin America: Peru, Cuba And Venezuela
In December 2010 another Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, was sentenced to 30 years for his part in the bombings, having confessed on television to being hired by Posada Carriles. In March 2005 Posada entered the US on a false

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

and requested political asylum. Presidents

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

of Cuba and

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...

of Venezuela both demanded extradition. He lived in Miami until he was detained by homeland security following an interview he gave to the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...

'', in which he claimed to have entered the US without papers. He was then placed under house arrest. In September 2005 a US immigration judge ruled he could not be extradited to Venezuela or Cuba as he faced the threat of torture in these countries. In January 2009 Posada was indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, immigration fraud, and perjury by a federal grand jury. He was cleared on all counts in April 2011. Havana 1973 Hotel Capri

In popular culture

Film

* ''

Wasp Network The Cuban Five, also known as the Miami Five, are five Cuban intelligence officers (Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, and René González) who were arrested in September 1998 and later convicted in Miam ...

'', 2019.

Literature

* ''The Last Soldiers of the Cold War'' by

Fernando Morais Fernando Gomes de Morais (born July 22, 1946) is a Brazilian journalist, biographer, politician and writer. He wrote biographies and books on a series of Brazilian historical personalities and events, many of which were adapted into film. Life ...

, 2011.

References

External links

A Bombers Tale: Key Cuba Foe Claims Exiles' Backing
by

Ann Louise Bardach Ann Louise Bardach .L. Bardachis an American journalist and non-fiction author. Bardach is best known for her work on Cuba and Miami and was called "the go-to journalist on all things Cuban and Miami," by the ''Columbia Journalism Review'', hav ...

, '' The New York Times'', July 12, 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuba hotel bombings Explosions in 1997 1997 crimes in Cuba Terrorist incidents in North America in 1997 Terrorist incidents in Cuba Attacks on hotels in North America 1990s murders in Cuba 1997 murders in North America Hotel bombings

See also

In popular culture

Film

Literature

References

External links