1997 Cuba hotel bombings

Series of bombings by anti-Communist militants 1997 Cuba hotel bombings Hotel_Nacional_de_Cuba_-_panoramio.jpg Hotel Nacional de Cuba Havana, Cuba Cuban tourist industry September 4, 1997 11:30 hours CST C-4 bombs Anti-communism 1 (Fabio di Celmo) 11 Luis Posada CarrilesRaúl Ernesto Cruz León Otto René Rodríguez LlerenaFrancisco Chávez Abarca The 1997 Cuba hotel bombings were a series2018-05-24 Militant Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles has died https://apnews.com/general-news-abe917c4060044b3913a1ec208e5e97c 2026-08-18 AP News en of 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. 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. 2016-12-08 Cuban Official Details 1997 Hotel Bombings in Posada Carriles Case https://www.foxnews.com/world/cuban-official-details-1997-hotel-bombings-in-posada-carriles-case 2026-08-18 Fox News en-US 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."Epstein Jack 2005-05-18 Arrest of Cuban ex-CIA figure puts Bush in tough political spot https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/arrest-of-cuban-ex-cia-figure-puts-bush-in-tough-2670105.php 2026-08-18 SFGATE en 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.Franks Jeff December 22, 2010 Salvadoran sentenced to 30 years for Cuba bombings https://www.reuters.com/article/world/salvadoran-sentenced-to-30-years-for-cuba-bombings-idUSTRE6BL3IW/ August 18, 2026 Reuters The sentences were commuted in 2010 to 30 years in prison.2011-03-13 Terrorism In Latin America: Peru, Cuba And Venezuela https://www.eurasiareview.com/13032011-terrorism-in-latin-america-peru-cuba-and-venezuela/ https://web.archive.org/web/20210724135419/https://www.eurasiareview.com/13032011-terrorism-in-latin-america-peru-cuba-and-venezuela/ 2021-07-24 2026-08-18 Eurasia Review en-US He was released on 30 December 2024.1 January 2025 Cuba frees man who participated in 1997 attacks on hotels in Havana, orchestrated by Cuban exiles https://apnews.com/article/cuba-1997-hotel-attacks-salvadoran-freed-f14bba8a83cd4ee5e0944b37f2445e63 1 January 2025 Associated Press en 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.https://www.thenation.com/article/posada-file/ The Posada File Kornbluh Peter 2005-05-19 The Nation 2017-11-14 0027-8378 2017-11-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20171114145618/https://www.thenation.com/article/posada-file/ dead Presidents Fidel Castro of Cuba and Hugo Chávez of Venezuela both demanded extradition.http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article1927955.html Flashback Posada speaks to Herald miamiherald 2017-11-14 en 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.http://edition.cnn.com/2007/LAW/05/08/posada.charges/index.html Judge throws out charges against anti-Castro militant - CNN.com CNN en 2017-11-14 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.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4289136.stm No deportation for Cuban militant 2005-09-28 2017-11-14 en-GB In January 2009 Posada was indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, immigration fraud, and perjury by a federal grand jury.https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/10/luis-posada-cuba-denounces-us-acquittal-cia-agent Cuba denounces acquittal of former CIA agent Luis Posada as a farce Carroll Rory 2011-04-10 The Guardian 2017-11-14 en-GB 0261-3077 He was cleared on all counts in April 2011.https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/09/us/09posada.html Cuban Exile Luis Posada Carriles Is Acquitted Associated Press 2011-04-08 The New York Times 2017-11-14 en-US 0362-4331 thumb|220px|Luis Posada Carriles in uniform of the United States Army, during his stay at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1962. thumb|Capri Hotel in 1973. See also Cuban Five 1996 shootdown of Brothers to the Rescue aircraft In popular culture Film Wasp Network, 2019. Literature The Last Soldiers of the Cold War by Fernando Morais, 2011. References External links A Bombers Tale: Key Cuba Foe Claims Exiles' Backing by Ann Louise Bardach, The New York Times, July 12, 1998 Category:1997 building bombings Category:1997 crimes in Cuba Category:Terrorist incidents in North America in 1997 Category:Terrorist incidents in Cuba Category:Attacks on hotels in North America Category:1990s murders in Cuba Category:1997 murders in North America Category:Hotel bombings Category:Building bombings in North America Category:Anti-communist terrorism in Cuba Category:20th century in Havana Category:Crime in Havana