1997 Cuba hotel bombings

Events

The first and worst of the explosions took place at the Hotel Copacabana at about 11:30 AM (local time) on 4 September, and killed Fabio di Celmo, a 32-year-old Genoan, from Italy, and resident of Montreal, according to the Italian Foreign Ministry. Di Celmo was visiting Cuba with his father and staying in the hotel. Eleven other tourists were also injured in the bombings. The hotels targeted included the Hotel Capri, Hotel Nacional de Cuba, and the Meliá Cohiba Hotel.

Responsibility

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." 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, alongside fellow Salvadoran Otto René Rodríguez Llerena. The sentences were commuted in 2010 to 30 years in prison. He was released on 30 December 2024. 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 and requested political asylum. Presidents Fidel Castro of Cuba and Hugo Chávez 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, 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.

In popular culture

Film

• Wasp Network, 2019.

Literature

• The Last Soldiers of the Cold War by Fernando Morais, 2011.

References

References

1. [https://apnews.com/article/abe917c4060044b3913a1ec208e5e97c Militant Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles has died] ''AP News''
2. [[Fox News]], 10 February 2011, [http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2011/02/10/cuban-official-details-hotel-bombings-posada-carriles-case/ Cuban Official Details 1997 Hotel Bombings in Posada Carriles Case]
3. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/05/18/MNGIHCQRSP1.DTL Arrest of Cuban ex-CIA figure puts Bush in tough political spot] ''San Francisco Chronicle''
4. Bardach, Ann Louise. ''Cuba Confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami and Havana''. p180-223.
5. ''[[Reuters]]'', 22 December 2010, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120911004129/http://af.reuters.com/article/idAFTRE6BL3JQ20101222 Salvadoran sentenced to 30 years for Cuba bombings]
6. link. (2011-04-15)
7. (1 January 2025). "Cuba frees man who participated in 1997 attacks on hotels in Havana, orchestrated by Cuban exiles".
8. Kornbluh, Peter. (2005-05-19). "The Posada File". The Nation.
9. "Flashback {{!}} Posada speaks to Herald". miamiherald.
10. "Judge throws out charges against anti-Castro militant - CNN.com".
11. (2005-09-28). "No deportation for Cuban militant".
12. Carroll, Rory. (2011-04-10). "Cuba denounces acquittal of former CIA agent Luis Posada as a farce". The Guardian.
13. (2011-04-08). "Cuban Exile Luis Posada Carriles Is Acquitted". The New York Times.