A sentence spoken amid laughter ended with a 52-year-old Cuban being detained at Miami International Airport (MIA) and his luggage being searched by a dog trained to detect explosives.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday and involved Osniel Blanco López, a Miami resident, who later claimed to the authorities that he was "just joking," according to the report from Local 10.
The situation arose while Blanco López was at the American Airlines ticket counter. As part of the usual procedure, an employee asked him if he was carrying any hazardous materials.
He first responded that no. He then added in Spanish, "I have a grenade," and laughed, according to the arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office cited by the outlet.
The statement was taken seriously by the airline staff. Another employee who heard the comment warned him, "This is not a joke," and alerted the authorities.
The security response included the inspection of the passenger's luggage with an explosive detection dog. The search found no devices.
Blanco López was subsequently taken to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office at the airport. There, he explained that his comment had been a joke.
Although there were no explosives in his belongings, he was arrested on the charge of making a false report about the placement of a bomb.
Until the evening of this Monday, August 31, the Cuban remained detained at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, while the prison records still indicated that his bail was "to be determined."
This is not the first time a supposed joke of this kind has ended in an arrest at Miami airport.
In January, another Cuban, 49 years old and a resident of Houston, was arrested at MIA after mentioning the word "bomb" during the boarding process. No explosives were found either.
False bomb threats have caused several similar incidents at Miami International Airport, where any mention of explosives can trigger security protocols regardless of whether the passenger later claims it was a joke.
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