Nikola Kavaja ( sr-cyr, Никола Каваја; 3 October 1932 – 10 November 2008) was a Serbian
anti-communists
Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...
disident. Known as the "Tito Hunter", due to his repeated assassination attempts on Yugoslav President
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
Peć
Peja (Definiteness, Indefinite Albanian language, Albanian Albanian morphology#Nouns (declension), form: ''Pejë'' ) or Peć ( sr-Cyrl, Пећ ) is the fourth largest List of cities and towns in Kosovo, city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipali ...
,
Zeta Banovina
The Zeta Banovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Zetska banovina, Зетска бановина), was a province ( banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. This province consisted of all of present-day Montenegro as well as ...
,
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
(now
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
), to
gendarmerie
Wrong info! -->
A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...
father Mitar Kavaja and mother Milja (née Čađenović). Mitar, as a member of the gendarmery, fought numerous times with
kachaks
Kachaks ( sq, kaçak, sr, качаци / ''kačaci'') is a term used for the Albanian bandits active in the late 19th and early 20th century in northern Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia, and later as a term for the militias of Albania ...
(Albanian brigands). Nikola's paternal grandfather was a '' perjanik'' (personal guard) of King
Nikola I of Montenegro
Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš ( sr-cyr, Никола I Петровић-Његош; – 1 March 1921) was the last monarch of Montenegro from 1860 to 1918, reigning as prince from 1860 to 1910 and as the country's first and only king from 1910 to 19 ...
. His paternal family descended from Dobrsko Selo near
Cetinje
Cetinje (, ) is a town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital (''prijestonica'' / приjестоница) of Montenegro and is the location of several national institutions, including the official residence of the president of Montenegro ...
, and were originally surnamed Radišić, however, after a ''
krvna osveta
Krvna osveta ( sr-cyr, Крвна освета) ("blood feud") is a law of vendetta among South Slavic peoples in Montenegro and Herzegovina that has been practiced by Montenegrins, Serbs, Bosniaks, and Croats (predominantly from Herzegovina) t ...
'' (blood feud), the family changed its name into Kavaja. One of the Radišić brothers had killed a Turk ''
bey
Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...
'', and was forced to flee in order to save his life. The feud brought him as far as
Kavajë
Kavajë ( , sq-definite, Kavaja) is a municipality centrally located in the Western Lowlands region of Albania, in Tirana County. It borders Durrës to the north , Tiranë to the east and Rrogozhinë to the south . To the west lies the Adriati ...
, in Albania, and when the situation had calmed down he returned to Dobrsko Selo, where the villagers began calling him ''Kavaja'', from where a new brotherhood (''bratstvo'') emerged, the "Kavaje". Still, to this day, there exist two brotherhoods in Dobrsko Selo, the Kavaje and Radišići, which are kin by blood.
He was brought up in Peć. In April 1941,
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
. In 1944 he returned to Peć to find his family. By his own account, he killed someone for the first time in his life that year when he pushed a wounded German soldier into a well.
Military and intelligence career
Early in his life, Kavaja served in the
Yugoslav Air Force
The Air Force and Air Defence ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Ратно ваздухопловство и противваздушна одбрана, Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazdušna odbrana ; abbr. sh-Cyrl-Latn, label=none, separator=/, РВ и ПВ ...
(RV i PVO), a branch of the
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...
(JNA), studying at the Air Force Academy in Pančevo where he rose to the rank of
second lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
. Later he grew disillusioned with the communist regime that controlled FPR Yugoslavia, and joined a secret
anti-communist
Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
group. In June 1953, as part of his clandestine activities, he sabotaged gas tanks at the
Sombor
Sombor ( sr-Cyrl, Сомбор, ; hu, Zombor; rue, Зомбор, Zombor) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the West Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city has a total popula ...
airport. He evaded arrest, and a man who was not involved in the explosion was tried and executed. When his commander in the secret group was arrested, he deserted the air force. He was arrested by Yugoslav authorities while attempting to cross the border into
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
; however, after serving four years of an 18-and-a-half year prison sentence, Kavaja escaped and finally made it to
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. There, he was detained by Austrian authorities and transferred to an American Army base. After seven months of investigation by American authorities who suspected him of ties to the
KGB
The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
, Kavaja began to carry out missions for the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
against Yugoslavia and the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, including "sabotage, spying, exposing double agents, assassinations." In the 1960s he was living in
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Vojislav Stanimirović and his son Pavle Stanimirović.
According to Kavaja, one of his major assignments from the CIA was to assassinate
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
, president of Yugoslavia. Tito traveled to
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and Kavaja followed, but the chance to kill the leader was foiled when Tito stayed indoors for his entire stay. Kavaja followed Tito from Brazil to
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, and the United States. Upon arrival in the United States, he and his companions had to be especially careful because he was wanted by the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
, which did not always share sources with the CIA. Kavaja claimed that in 1971, he staked out
Camp David
Camp David is the country retreat for the president of the United States of America. It is located in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, near the towns of Thurmont and Emmitsburg, about north-northwe ...
(near
Thurmont, Maryland
Thurmont is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 6,935 at the 2020 census. The town is located in the northern part of Frederick County (north of Frederick, the county seat), approximately ten miles from the Pen ...
), disguised as a Maryland State Trooper, in order to kill Tito, who was visiting United States President
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
. Once again, he was foiled when Tito stayed indoors.
Freedom for the Serbian Fatherland
Kavaja was a central figure in a group called the Serbian Homeland Liberation Movement ( sr, Српски ослободилачки покрет Отаџбина, Latin abbr. SOPO). Kavaja claimed that this organization bombed the Yugoslav embassies in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and
Ottawa, Canada
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
and consulates in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, and
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
.
In 1978, Kavaja and SOPO companions numbering over one hundred (including Stojiljko Kajević) were arrested in New York City by U.S. law enforcement officials. Kavaja was released on $250,000 bail, and after visiting his family in New York City, on June 20, 1979 he hijacked an
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
727 ( Flight 293 from New York City to Chicago). He planned to demand Kajević's release and then fly to a destination of Kajević's choosing. When he realized that Kajević would not be released, he let the plane's passengers go, retaining only the pilot, co-pilot and flight engineer. In an odd twist, included in this group was his own lawyer Deyan Rasha Brashich that took the place of the Hostages . David Lenevsky, who is the same attorney used by renowned Serbian-American crime lord Vojislav Stanimirović for the Vizcaya Heist case. He forced the crew to fly back from Chicago to
JFK Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Avia ...
in New York City. There, he transferred to a larger plane (a
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
) and demanded to be taken to
Johannesburg, South Africa
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
. On the advice of his lawyer David Lenevsky he flew to Ireland, which he was told did not have an extradition agreement with the United States. Hoping for political asylum, Kavaja surrendered in
Shannon, Ireland
Shannon () or Shannon Town (), named after the river near which it stands, is a town in County Clare, Ireland. It was given town status on 1 January 1982. The town is located just off the N19 road, a spur of the N18/M18 road between Limeric ...
with attorney Deyan Ranko Brashich and Kavaja was returned to America to again face a criminal trial.
Kavaja was in prison from 1979 until being released in 1997 and was to have remained on parole until 2019. He violated his parole by returning to Yugoslavia; had he returned to the United States he would have been arrested and returned to prison.
Kavaja formed a military unit for the defense of Serbs in Kosovo. A training camp was established in
Piva
Piva may refer to:
* Piva (river), a river in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Piva, Montenegro, a region in Montenegro and tribe
* Piva River, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea
* Piva Trail, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea
** Battle for Piva Tr ...
, Montenegro, where recruits undertook six months training. However his unit was never given permission to be used against the
Kosovo Liberation Army
The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; , UÇK) was an ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia during the ...
.
Nikola Kavaja was arrested on April 1, 2003 during
Operation Sablja
Operation Sabre ( Serbian: Операција Сабља, ''Operacija Sablja'') was a Serbian police operation in 2003 to find and arrest those responsible for the assassination of the prime minister, Zoran Đinđić, as well as other persons who ...
following the
assassination of Zoran Đinđić
Zoran Đinđić, the sixth Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, was assassinated on Wednesday 12 March 2003, in Belgrade, Serbia. Đinđić was fatally shot by a sniper while exiting his vehicle outside of the back entrance of the Serbia ...
. Kavaja was soon released, however.
Filmmaker Milan Knežević made a documentary about Kavaja called ''Nikola Kavaja - lovac na Tita'' ("Nikola Kavaja - Tito's hunter"), which was shown at the 1994
Edinburgh Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...
.
He was an associate of
Boško Radonjić
Boško "The Yugo" Radonjić (, ; 17 May 1943 – 31 March 2011) was a Serbian criminal, former leader of the Westies, a predominantly Irish-American gang based in New York's Hell's Kitchen.
Early life
Radonjić was born in 1943 in Užice. B ...
and Vojislav Stanimirović, and considered a ranking authority and inspiration by the
Pink Panthers
The Pink Panthers are an international jewel thief network responsible for a number of robberies and thefts described as some of the most audacious in the history of organized crime. The organization has roughly 800 core members, many of whom ...
.
Kavaja died from a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
at his home in Belgrade on November 10, 2008, although it was speculated that he was poisoned.
See also
*
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking (also known as airplane hijacking, skyjacking, plane hijacking, plane jacking, air robbery, air piracy, or aircraft piracy, with the last term used within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States) is the unlawfu ...