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CUBA
NEWS
Yahoo!
Cuba Sentences Hijackers to 7-10 Years
By Anita Snow, Associated Press
Writer
HAVANA, 14 - Six men sent back to Cuba by U.S.
authorities were convicted and sentenced to 7
to 10 years in prison for hijacking a government
boat and trying to reach Florida, a court official
said Thursday.
Cuban exiles had criticized the Bush administration's
decision to return the men to the communist country
because previous hijackers had been executed.
Even President Bush's brother Florida Gov. Jeb
Bush questioned the move.
The Bush administration agreed to the repatriation
after Havana promised that those who stole the
boat would serve no longer than 10 years in prison.
The sentences of between 7 and 10 years were handed
down Tuesday, the court official said.
The six were intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard
as they made their way through the Florida Straits
on July 16. The United States also returned three
security guards from the boat and six other men
who were on board, but Cuban authorities released
them.
Under U.S. policy, most Cuban migrants intercepted
at sea are repatriated, while those who reach
land are generally allowed to stay and apply for
American residency after a year.
U.S. officials said the Cubans were ineligible
to be allowed to remain in the country because
they committed acts of violence in Cuba by hijacking
the vessel and by confronting Coast Guard personnel
who boarded the boat. The craft is owned by Geocuba,
a state-owned company that does geological exploration
and mapping.
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