MIAMI (AP) - Two groups have filed Freedom of Information Act requests seeking details from the U.S. government about Cuban exiles detained on the communist island in an alleged terrorist plot.
The requests were filed with the FBI, CIA and State Department by the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five and the ANSWER Coalition, an anti-war organization. Representatives of the groups said Thursday they are seeking any information in U.S. possession about the four men and any connections or support they may have had with Cuban exiles based in Miami.
“We believe that documentation will reveal a great deal,” said Brian Becker, national director of the ANSWER Coalition. “The point of the documents is to find out the truth.”
FOIA requests frequently take months or even years.
U.S. officials have said very little about the case since Cuba announced earlier this month it had arrested four men from Miami for planning what authorities called “terrorist actions” against military targets on the island. They were the first such arrests in years.
The U.S. Interests Section in Havana issued a statement May 10 confirming a meeting with representatives of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The statement said some information had been provided by the Cubans and that was under review.
Miami-based Cuban exiles cited by Cuba as alleged backers of the plot, including Santiago Alvarez and Luis Posada Carriles, have denied any connection to the men. Both Alvarez and Posada were longtime CIA operatives opposed to the communist Cuban government, and Posada is accused of masterminding bombings including the 1976 downing of a Cuban jetliner that killed 78 people.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.