|
Posted on Sat, Mar. 24, 2003 in The Miami Herald.
Passengers of hijacked plane return to Cuba
By Sofia Santana. ssantana@herald.com. Posted on Sun, Mar.
23, 2003 in The Miami Herald
Many of the Cuban passengers and crew members on a plane hijacked over Cuba
and diverted to Key West returned home Saturday, federal officials said.
Those officials, citing security reasons, wouldn't confirm how many left,
but said only a small group opted to remain in the United States and seek
political asylum.
They'll likely be allowed to stay so they can testify against the six men
accused of commandeering the plane at knife point, said Barbara Gonzalez,
spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection.
''The prosecution of this serious crime is the most important thing right
now,'' Gonzalez said.
The passengers and crew members had been held at the Krome Detention Center
in West Miami-Dade since Wednesday.
Six young Cuban men are accused of storming the cockpit of the Cuban
Aerotaxi DC-3 and are jailed in Key West on federal charges.
The Cuban-American National Foundation will talk with the men, said
spokesman Joe Garcia.
''We may be lending preliminary legal assistance,'' Garcia said. "But
we won't be representing them.''
Garcia said he didn't know exactly how many of the passengers and crew had
left Saturday, but that it was a large group.
Hijacked plane held for judgment against Cuba
By Jennifer Babson. jbabson@herald.com. Posted on Sun,
Mar. 22, 2003 in The Miami Herald
KEY WEST - Less than 48 hours after accused hijackers forced a twin-engine
passenger plane from Cuba to the Keys at knife point, local authorities seized
the plane Friday, saying it would be sold within weeks to collect part of a $27
million judgment against Cuba obtained by the jilted ex wife of a Cuban spy.
Mark Willis, attorney for the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, said a hold
was placed on the passenger plane Friday at the request of lawyers for Ana
Margarita Martinez, who says she was duped in 1995 into marrying Cuban spy Juan
Pablo Roque. Late last year, Martinez's lawyers successfully petitioned
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Alan Postman to force the sale of a Russian-made
biplane taken from the island in November.
''Since Judge Postman has already decided that they have a right to levy on
Cuban assets, it wasn't necessary to go back and get court authorization because
the court had already made the authorization,'' Willis said.
Willis said he consulted with the U.S. Justice Department in Washington,
D.C., before seizing the plane so it could be auctioned in the next six weeks.
''They said they had no reason to interfere with the levy process, but of
course they wanted to be kept informed,'' Willis said.
The DC-3 carried 37 people -- including six alleged hijackers -- to Key West
International Airport on Wednesday night. Federal authorities have charged six
men with air piracy, saying they brandished knives and a hatchet to force the
plane from Cuba's Isle of Youth to Florida.
IN CUSTODY
The plane's Cuban passengers remained in federal custody at the Krome
detention center in southwest Miami-Dade Friday. Immigration officials refused
to say whether any have sought asylum or when passengers who want to return to
Cuba will be sent back.
Friday marked the second time in nearly five months that Martinez prompted
the seizure of a Cuban-owned plane brought to Key West.
In 2001, Martinez was awarded a $27 million judgment against the Cuban
government under a federal anti-terrorism law that allows victims to sue foreign
countries for civil damages in U.S. courts if those nations are classified by
the U.S. State Department as sponsors of terrorism.
Willis said he saw no reason to seek further legal guidance on the plane's
future.
''The last court order was specific to the biplane but the legal principles
that apply to a DC-3 aren't any different than the ones that apply to a Cuban
biplane, so there isn't any point in going back'' to court, Willis said.
A lawyer for Martinez said the plane is a legitimate asset for his client to
claim.
''It's another plane, it's another asset, whether it was hijacked or not
should not make any difference in that Ana has a valid claim against the Cuban
government,'' attorney Fernando Zulueta said.
Spokesmen for the Cuban Interests Section and the U.S. State Department
declined comment Friday.
Havana, however, has already demanded return of the plane, its passengers
and the hijackers. And U.S. diplomats in the past have tried to encourage the
return of Cuban government-owned planes and boats taken illegally from the
island.
Last month, the Coast Guard took to the high seas over a weekend to return a
speedboat used by four Cuban border guards to defect to Key West.
The unusual transfer had the support of the U.S. State Department.
It was the kind of speedy return that Peter Horton, manager of Key West's
airport, said he had hoped the DC-3 would get.
'BAD PRECEDENT'
''In my view as an aviation professional, that's a very bad precedent,'' to
keep a hijacked plane, Horton said. "This is a different situation from the
biplane. This is an aircraft that from my understanding was hijacked in flight
and it has always been the policy of this country to return hijacked aircraft to
their country of origin.''
But Victor M. Diaz, Jr., an attorney who has represented exile group
Brothers to the Rescue in litigation against Cuba, said Martinez's latest move
to satisfy her judgment should surprise no one.
''People think this is just a Cuba issue or an issue with Cuban Americans
but this is a law passed by the U.S. Congress that protects all American
citizens and it is being utilized everyday by American citizens to go after
assets of other countries,'' he said.
Still, Harold Hongju Koh, a professor of international law at Yale
University, said the plane's fate "raises foreign policy concerns."
''My guess is that this issue will move to a federal court where the
Department of Justice will ask to be given an interpretation of the statute to
determine whether the [seizure of the plane]is valid,'' Koh said.
"In doing so, two competing foreign policy objectives will be at issue
-- first a desire not to promote hijacking. Second to enable valid claimants to
secure judgments against governments like Cuba.''
Martinez's victories in this arena may be more symbolic in the end than
anything else.
The Russian-made Cuban biplane was auctioned in January for $7,000 -- to
Martinez herself.
Nearly three months later, the aging aircraft sits on a general aviation
ramp waiting for Martinez to satisfy a $16,000 lien Key West airport managers
slapped on the plane to defray security bills for guarding it. | 
