A man who was about to board an American Airlines flight to Camagüey was arrested this Monday at the Miami International Airport after telling the boarding agent that he had a bomb in his luggage.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office reported that the detained individual is Yoel Guevara-Crespo, 33 years old and a resident of Lake Charles, Louisiana. He responded to the standard security questions with a statement that cost him his trip and his freedom: when the agent asked if he had lithium batteries or incendiary devices, he said, "No, but I have a bomb."
The employee immediately informed him that he would not be able to board flight AA1319 and that she would contact her supervisor. Guevara-Crespo claimed it was a joke, but the authorities activated the full protocol.
The security agents arrived at the boarding gate and placed Guevara-Crespo in custody without incident. A K-9 dog inspected his luggage, yielding a negative result.
The man was taken to the airport station where he made a full confession. He was then admitted to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with a bail of $2,500.
What makes this case more than just an isolated incident is that it occurred just 24 hours after a nearly identical episode involving another Cuban at the same airport.
On Sunday, Osniel Blanco-López, a 52-year-old resident of Miami, was arrested at the American Airlines ticket counter after telling an employee in Spanish, "I have a grenade," and laughing.
The worker warned him that "this is not a joke" and alerted the authorities, who also conducted a K-9 search with negative results. Blanco-López was arrested on the same charge: false report of a bomb placement.
Blanco-López had already been released from jail on Tuesday, while Guevara-Crespo remained in custody, according to Telemundo 51.
Both cases add to a pattern of false bomb threats in Miami-Dade that has become recurrent throughout 2026.
In January of this year, the Cuban Eulalio Felipe Orama, 49 years old and residing in Houston, was arrested at MIA after saying the word "bomba" during the boarding of an American Airlines flight.
Since mid-March, a wave of false threats has impacted shopping malls, hospitals, zoos, and airports in the region, resulting in approximately 148 canceled flights and 185 delayed.
In August, a man from Hialeah was arrested for a similar threat. The case of Blanco-López occurred just days later.
Under Florida Statute 790.163, making a false bomb threat, even if the perpetrator claims it was a joke, constitutes a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000, regardless of whether there is any actual explosive.
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