Cuba Says It Seized 3 From U.S. Who Planned Attacks
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HAVANA — Cuba said Wednesday that its security forces have captured three armed “counter-revolutionary terrorists” trained in the United States who landed by dinghy on the northern Cuban coast to launch attacks on the island.
The report came amid renewed fervor among Cuban exiles for action to topple Fidel Castro’s Communist regime.
A statement from Cuba’s Interior Ministry said the three, all Miami residents, were seized Dec. 29 after they landed at night at El Jucaro, about 90 miles north of Havana.
The Cuban state media said the men were trained in the United States to carry out terrorist attacks using CIA-type methods. It didn’t say what those methods were.
“They . . . were trained and sent to Cuba to carry out violent acts against the revolution,” Cuba’s Interior Ministry said.
Radio Havana identified the gunmen as Eduardo Diaz Betancourt, Daniel Santovenia Fernandez and Pedro de la Caridad Alvarez Pedroso. Relatives of the three went on Miami Spanish-language radio Wednesday to appeal for international pressure for their release.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler said she was unable to confirm reports about the arrests.
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