Hijackers 'unite' US, Cuba

2003-04-04 12:00

Washington - The United States and Cuban governments have become strange bedfellows in a tacit co-operation to stem the hijacking of boats and planes to American territory at a time when bilateral relations are at their worst in years.

Concerned with Cuban security after the taking of two aircraft and a passenger ferry in the past two weeks by Florida-bound hijackers, Washington warned those who reached US shores by such means that they would face stiff prison terms.

"Such acts are extremely serious violations of international law and of US law," said James Cason, head of the US interests section in Havana, in a statement read in Spanish by an announcer on Cuba's state-run television.

It was the first time since the 1958-'59 revolution that put him in power that President Fidel Castro, who holds tight reins on the country's airwaves, allowed such a US statement read on air.

It was all the more surprising because Castro had made no secret of his hatred of Cason, whom he called "a bully with diplomatic immunity" because of Cason's contacts with, and support of, Cuban dissidents.

The statement was simultaneously released by the state department in Washington.

Threatened to kill 40 passengers

"Any individual of any nationality - including Cuban - who hijacks an aircraft or vessel to the United States will be prosecuted with the full force of the US legal system," said the statement.

"Individuals convicted of such offenses can expect to serve lengthy sentences in federal penitentiaries," he said.

"Once convicted of such an offence, any individual - including a Cuban - would be rendered permanently ineligible for lawful permanent residence in the United States.

As the statement was read, armed gunmen who hijacked a Cuban coastal ferry on Wednesday threatened to kill about 40 passengers aboard unless they were given enough fuel to reach Florida, 150km away.

The ferry was riding at anchor off the port of Mariel, where it was towed after running out of fuel at sea, said Cuban authorities. Negotiations for the hostages' release were in progress.

The ferry incident followed the hijacking of a Cubana Airlines Antonov-24 plane to Florida on April 1 by a man saying he was armed with grenades, and of a Cuban DC-3 plane by men with knives on March 19.

Both planes were intercepted by US jet fighters and forced to land at Key West, the southernmost island of the Florida Keys.

Might reconsider support for dissidents

"This has to be a huge security concern for the US," said Daniel Erikson, head of the private US-Cuba programme, Interamerican Dialogue.

He said security worries could force the US to reconsider its policy of open support for Cuban dissidents, particularly 78 whose sedition trials began in Havana on Wednesday.

"If, at the end of the day, you are just providing a rationale for the Cuban government to arrest these people, then your plan is really backfiring," said Erikson.

'Retreating into Stalinism'

The US state department, in a fresh, vitriolic reaction to the start of trials of the trials, called them "summary justice in regime kangaroo courts."

"The Castro regime's actions are the most-despicable act of political repression in the Americas in a decade," said spokesperson Philip Reeker.

"While the hemisphere has moved toward greater freedom, the anachronistic Cuban government appears to be retreating into Stalinism."

Human Rights Watch said the trials should be halted immediately, calling them "the latest development in a wave of repression".

Erikson called the situation "probably the worst moment in the bilateral relationship since 1996, when the Helms-Burton law passed right after Cuba shot down two planes."

Helms-Burton provides for the imposition of sanctions against companies doing business with Cuba.

William LeoGrande of Washington's American University called the situation "a very, very delicate moment.... The relationship is already strained. Now these hijackings put us at a dangerous moment.

"There's a real danger of either declaring Mr Cason persona non grata, which might lead the US to close the interests section, or a decision by the Cubans themselves to close it," he said.

"Castro has hinted at it pretty directly several times in the past couple of months."

The danger there, said LeoGrande, is that a closure of the interests section "could lead to another migration crisis like Mariel (1980) or the rafter crisis in 1994," he said, referring to instances when Castro opened the doors to Cubans wanting to leave, causing immigration nightmares in Florida.

- AFX