Francisco José Hernández, known as "Pepe", (

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, 1 September 1936) is a

Cuban exile A Cuban exile is a person who emigrated from Cuba in the Cuban exodus. Exiles have various differing experiences as emigrants depending on when they migrated during the exodus. Demographics Social class Cuban exiles would come from various ec ...

of the 1960s, anti-

Castro Castro is a Romance language word that originally derived from Latin ''castrum'', a pre-Roman military camp or fortification (cf: Greek: ''kastron''; Proto-Celtic:''*Kassrik;'' br, kaer, *kastro). The English-language equivalent is '' chester''. ...

, and

Bay of Pigs Invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called ''Invasión de Playa Girón'' or ''Batalla de Playa Girón'' after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles, covertly fin ...

participant who is co-founder and president of the

Cuban American National Foundation The Cuban American National Foundation is a foundation with the aim of assisting members of the Cuban community in Miami, Florida. Background and founding The Cuban National American Foundation was founded at a time when Republican American polit ...

that claims to be taking a less overt position against the Cuban form of government.

Controversy

Francisco Jose ‘Pepe’ Hernandez is said to have admitted serving the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

, but indicated that he did not consider himself or his cousin

Luis Posada Carriles Luis Clemente Posada Carriles (February 15, 1928 – May 23, 2018) was a Cuban exile militant and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent. He was considered a terrorist by the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the G ...

terrorists. In 1997, a boat captained by militant Cuban exiles on the way to Venezuela was intercepted by the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

off the coast of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. Hidden in the hull of the vessel was a small arsenal including a .50 caliber Barrett assault rifle registered to Hernandez, according to an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

report. They admitted that they were going to Venezuela to attempt to assassinate Fidel Castro with the weapon.

References

External links

The Cuban American National Foundation Official website
1936 births Living people Cuban emigrants to the United States {{Cuba-activist-stub