Terrorist plot dodged in Cuba from Florida man arriving by jetski
3 Min Read
One of the men arrested is a Cuban residing in Florida, who entered Cuba illegally on a jetski which he left in a swamp on the north coast of the island before attempting to enter Cienfuegos, in south-central Cuba.
-
A scene of the city of Havana in Cuba on Dec. 3, 2023 (AP)
A terrorist plot was dodged on Saturday in Cuba, according to a broadcast on state-run media, after a South Florida man arrived in the country via jetski with intentions to commit violence.
Even though the investigation remains ongoing, it is reported that the plot was associated with at least two groups, Nueva Nacion Cubana and La Nueva Nacion Cubana en Armas - designated by Cuba as terrorist groups.
The two groups were labeled as "criminal organizations based in the United States that organize, finance...and execute actions against the security of the Cuban state."
One of the men arrested, a Cuban residing in Florida, was armed with several handguns, ammunition clips, and ammo. He entered Cuba illegally on a jetski that carried a Florida registration, after which he left it in a swamp on the north coast of the island before attempting to enter Cienfuegos, in south-central Cuba.
He then tried to recruit people to assist him in violence, arson, and vandalism before being arrested.
As relayed by state-run media, other Cubans living in South Florida and Cuba, were being questioned and investigated for their association in the alleged plot.
Read more: Cuba’s hero, American spy: Ana Belen Montes
Switching terror lists
Meanwhile, the US has Cuba on its "terror list".
Earlier in January this year, a group of 160 mostly American lawyers called on US President Joe Biden to remove Cuba from the so-called "State Sponsors of Terrorism" (SSOT) list.
"Given the tremendous economic, social, humanitarian, and commercial effect placement on the SSOT list has had for the Cuba people, maintaining it for such pretextual reasons continues to be a stain on U.S. foreign policy," the letter considered.
The Reagan administration first placed Cuba on the SSOT list in 1982, after which Cuba witnessed decades of US sanctions, assassination attempts, and subversion to topple Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
In 2015, then-US President Barack Obama removed Cuba from the list. However, relations deteriorated under his successor Donald Trump, who reinforced sanctions on the Caribbean island nation.
Havana previously highlighted that US-backed terrorism has killed or wounded more than 5,000 Cubans and cost its economy billions of dollars.
