Just when the U.S. Department of Justice announced the federal charges against Raúl Castro for the downing of the Brothers to the Rescue planes, two of the Cuban ex-agents convicted for their role in that operation publicly came forward to defend the regime's narrative.
René González and Gerardo Hernández, two of the Cuban spies who were part of the Red Avispa network, continue to claim that the pilots of Brothers to the Rescue were "operatives trained by the CIA" rather than "humanitarian aviators."
The paradox is hard to overlook: both men were convicted precisely for their involvement in the Cuban intelligence operations related to the shootdown on February 24, 1996, during which MiG fighters from the Cuban Air Force destroyed two Cessna planes over international waters in the Florida Straits, killing four Cuban-American volunteers.
In an interview with the official channel Razones de Cuba, René states that the founders of the organization "were trained in sabotage, terrorism, and infiltration techniques against propaganda by the CIA" since the 1960s.
"When they came to violate Cuban waters, they were free Cubans coming to claim a right. But when Cuba reacted to protect itself, then they were American citizens demanding that the U.S. government do something to protect them," González argues.
What he omits is that he himself infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue in May 1991, carried out 54 missions as a pilot with the organization, and transmitted information about their flights and activities to Havana, according to statements from the founder José Basulto.
He was sentenced in 2001 to 15 years in prison for conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government not registered, and released in December 2014 as part of the diplomatic thaw between the Obama administration and Cuba.
Gerardo Hernández, for his part, was the leader of the Wasp Network in Miami and received two life sentences plus 15 months for conspiracy to commit espionage and, specifically, for conspiracy to commit murder related to the shooting down of the aircraft.
This Wednesday, he published on Facebook that "if they open the 'Pandora's box', many truths will finally come to light, and many myths will fall," referring to the shootdown of February 24, 1996.
He also wrote that "the United States could have prevented what happened" because Cuba sent at least 16 diplomatic notes complaining about repeated violations of its airspace before the attack.
The four victims of the downing were Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales, all Cuban-American volunteers whose bodies were never recovered.
The indictment of Raúl Castro, aged 94, is based on an audio recording from June 1996 in which the then Minister of Defense admits to having given the order: "Well, throw them in the sea when they show up; and do not consult those who have the authority."
The accusation holds primarily symbolic significance since there is no extradition treaty between Cuba and the United States, but the founder of Hermanos al Rescate, José Basulto, summed up the feelings of the victims' families: "I have wished for this for a long time. I have wished for justice to be served, for justice to become a reality."
Filed under: