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By Jennifer Babson. jbabson@herald.com. Posted on Wed, Mar.
26, 2003 in The Miami Herald
KEY WEST - A federal magistrate refused prosecutors' request Tuesday to deny
bond to six Cuban men charged last week with using knives and a hatchet to
hijack a Douglas DC-3 plane from Cuba to Key West.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Hugh Morgan set bond for Alexis Norneilla Morales, 31,
Eduardo Javier Mejía Morales, 26, Yainer Olivares Samón, 21,
Neudis Infantes Hernández, 31, Alvenis Arias Izquierdo, 24, and Miakel
Guerra Morales, 31.
The men were charged with conspiracy to seize a plane by force after the
twin-engine plane was diverted from a scheduled stop in Havana on March 19.
The plane had departed from the Isle of Youth with 31 passengers and six
crew members aboard.
Barbara Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Customs and Border
Protection, said Tuesday that 11 passengers have been released from the custody
of immigration officials and one still remains in custody. The rest of the
plane's passengers were returned, at their request, to Cuba on Saturday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Delionado argued in court that the men could
pose a risk of flight because they face at least 20 years in prison if
convicted.
''They certainly cannot go back to Cuba,'' Morgan responded.
Under U.S. immigration policy, Cuban migrants who set foot in the United
States -- regardless of how they arrive -- are allowed to stay.
Under terms of Morgan's bond order, each defendant will have to post $3,750
toward a $100,000 bond and will have to wear an electronic monitoring device and
be placed under house arrest. Arraignment was set for April 3.
Morgan also agreed to delay granting bond by 48 hours to give the government
time to appeal his decision.
Delionado argued Tuesday that the incident was a ''crime of violence'' that
meant the men could be a threat to the community if released on bail.
''The pilot was held at knife-point and directed under force and threat to
divert this flight,'' Delionado said.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office seized the DC-3 on Friday, and set a date
of April 28 for its auction to pay off part of a $27 million judgment against
Cuba obtained by Ana Margarita Martinez, the duped ex-wife of a Cuban spy.
Defense attorneys characterized the incident that unexpectedly brought the
plane to Key West as a flight to freedom.
''[Mejía] is married, he has a daughter, both his wife and daughter
were aboard the airplane,'' said Mario S. Cano, Mejía's court-appointed
attorney.
``This will not be a plea, this will be a trial. We do not believe these
gentlemen are guilty of air piracy.''
In the courtroom Tuesday was Rigoberto Morales, the brother-in-law of
Norneilla, who authorities described as the incident's ringleader.
''I feel good,'' Morales said.
``It's about freedom. Now [Norneilla] will know the difference between
living in Cuba and living here.''
Attorney Stewart G. Abrams, who represents Norneilla, said the incident was
not an act of terrorism because the men immediately surrendered four of five
knives used in the incident when they reached Key West.
Police later found the fifth knife near a seat in the plane.
''The first thing that these individuals do is toss out their only means of
control,'' Abrams said.
Delionado and FBI Special Agent Anthony Russo revealed additional details
Tuesday about last week's alleged hijacking.
According to Russo, the plane's pilot first heard a loud banging noise that
he thought might be engine trouble. Right after that, when he peered over his
shoulder, he said he saw a fight at the cockpit door as several other crew
members tried to prevent the door from caving in.
''One of the hijackers came in and put a knife to his throat and told him to
go north to Miami,'' Russo testified.
The plane's flight engineer told a similar story of mayhem in the cockpit,
Russo said, and though the engineer grabbed an emergency ax from inside the
cockpit during the struggle, he gave up after learning that hijackers had taken
over the plane's narrow passenger section. Russo said all three crew members he
interviewed indicated immediately after the alleged hijacking that they wanted
to return to the island.
Russo also said the pilot told him he made contact with authorities in
Miami, about 60 miles from Key West, and radioed that ``there was a political
problem on board.''
By this time, however, air traffic officials in Havana had notified
counterparts in Miami that a hijacking was under way.
Meanwhile, at least one defendant was providing beverage service, passing
out drinks like a flight attendant, Russo and attorneys said. | 
