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Accused Cuban bomber calmly confesses on TV
September 16, 1997
Web posted at: 1:15 p.m. EDT (1715 GMT)
In this story:
- Cuba claims anti-Castro group is behind bombings
- Did he act alone in Cuba?
- Death penalty possible
- Related stories and sites
HAVANA (CNN) -- A Salvadoran man arrested by Cuban police on charges of planting at least six bombs targeting tourist sites calmly confessed to the attacks, one of them fatal, during a government-run television broadcast.
Cuban officials said the man, who identified himself as Raul Ernesto Cruz Leon from El Salvador, spoke of his own free will Monday night, although that could not be verified independently.
Cruz Leon admitted he planted the bombs that exploded at two Havana hotels on July 12 and three other hotels and a restaurant on September 4. An Italian businessman died in one of the September blasts.
"There in El Salvador, I was given the mission to come (to Cuba) and plant explosive artifacts in a certain number of tourist sites -- they gave me a list -- generally hotels, to create panic among tourists," Cruz Leon said.
Cuba claims anti-Castro group is behind bombings
Dark-haired and casually dressed in black jeans and a gray-green shirt, Cruz Leon appeared to be in his 20s or early 30s. Speaking clearly, he showed no signs of nervousness or fear.
Cruz Leon did not reveal exactly who had sent him on his bombing missions. That information was provided by Cuban counterintelligence officer Col. Adalberto Rabeiro, whose testimony took up most of the one-hour TV program.
Rabeiro said the Salvadoran was part of a "network of drug traffickers and terrorists" in El Salvador, which was "organized, supplied and paid by the (Cuban American National) Foundation" to carry out the bomb attacks in Cuba.
The Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) is a leading Cuban exile group that fiercely opposes Cuban President Fidel Castro and his Communist rule. The group has denied previous Cuban accusations linking it to the bombings.
Rabeiro did not reveal how Cuban authorities had come to suspect the CANF.
"It is not convenient for the moment, for our work, to reveal to the enemy all that we know and how we know it," he said.
Authorities do, however, claim to possess incriminating taped telephone conversations between the Salvadoran, who was posing as a tourist, and people who allegedly trained and supplied him in El Salvador.
Did he act alone in Cuba?
In his televised testimony, Cruz Leon said he acted entirely alone inside Cuba, traveling to the island on two separate occasions to carry out the bomb attacks.
"They sent me with sufficient modern methods to guarantee my security so I didn't have to contact anyone in Cuba," he told the interviewer.
Rabeiro also said Cruz Leon had smuggled C-4 plastic explosives into Cuba. The explosives were hidden in the soles of his shoes, and also wrapped in insulating material and concealed inside a TV set.
According to Rabeiro's lengthy explanation, Cruz Leon had used a sophisticated electronic device hidden inside a small calculator to set the timing of the detonators used in the explosions.
The detonators were smuggled into the country inside false marker pens and a clock radio, the intelligence officer said.
Cuban TV showed pictures of the equipment. Cruz Leon was shown unscrewing the back of a TV set to point out where the explosives were hidden. Rabeiro said Cruz Leon had displayed intensive training to place the bombs, often checking out the sites the day before.
Death penalty possible
Cuba previously described Cruz Leon as a mercenary who confessed to receiving $4,500 for each of six bombings.
He has been charged with terrorism and sabotage, crimes that in Cuba carry sentences ranging from 10 years in prison to the death penalty.
Meanwhile, Cuban prosecutors reportedly were seeking the death penalty for a U.S. man charged with inciting terrorism. Walter van der Veer was arrested a year ago while allegedly trying to organize an uprising against the Cuban government.
High-level Cuban officials told CNN they want to make something unmistakably clear to anyone who may want to use violence in an effort to destabilize the government. Try it and Cuba will impose the maximum penalty -- death by firing squad -- even if that means an international backlash.
Havana Bureau Chief Lucia Newman and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Cuba says it has arrested man responsible for bombings - September 10, 1997
- Explosions hit 3 hotels in Havana, killing 1 - September 4, 1997
- Cuba edgy after bombings - July 23, 1997
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