The 1997 Cuba hotel bombings were a seriesMilitant Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles has died
''AP News'' of terrorist bombing attacks on

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n hotels organized by anti-Communist militants. The purpose of the bombing campaign was to destroy the recently resurgent Cuban tourism trade and in so doing, undermine the country's Communist government.

Events

The first and worst of the explosions took place at the Hotel Copacabana at about 11:30 AM (local time) on 4 September, and killed Fabio di Celmo, a 32-year-old

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

n, from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and resident of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, according to the Italian Foreign Ministry. Di Celmo was visiting Cuba with his father and staying in the hotel. Eleven other tourists were also injured in the bombings. The hotels targeted included the Hotel Capri,

Hotel Nacional de Cuba The Hotel Nacional de Cuba is a historic Spanish eclectic architecture, Spanish eclectic style hotel in Havana, Cuba, opened in 1930. Located on the sea front of Vedado district, it stands on Taganana Hill, offering commanding views of the sea an ...

, and the Meliá Cohiba Hotel.

Responsibility

Cuban-exile and former

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

asset,

Luis Posada Carriles Luis Clemente Posada Carriles (February 15, 1928 – May 23, 2018) was a Cuban exile militant and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent. He was considered a terrorist by the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the ...

, admitted organizing the bombings. In a taped interview with ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Posada said: "It is sad that someone is dead, but we can't stop."Arrest of Cuban ex-CIA figure puts Bush in tough political spot
''San Francisco Chronicle'' Posada was reportedly disappointed with the reluctance of American news organisations to report the bombing attacks, saying "If there is no publicity, the job is useless". In March 1999 Raúl Ernesto Cruz León, who Posada admitted was a

mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...

under his employment, was sentenced to death by the Cuban authorities after admitting to the attacks,Bardach, Ann Louise. ''Cuba Confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami and Havana''. p180-223. alongside fellow

Salvadoran Salvadorans (), also known as Salvadorians, are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvadoran diaspora, particularly in the United States, with smalle ...

Otto René Rodríguez Llerena.''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

'', 22 December 2010
Salvadoran sentenced to 30 years for Cuba bombings
/ref> The sentences were commuted in 2010 to 30 years in prison.Eurasia Review
Terrorism In Latin America: Peru, Cuba And Venezuela
He was released on 30 December 2024. In December 2010 another Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, was sentenced to 30 years for his part in the bombings, having confessed on television to being hired by Posada Carriles. In March 2005 Posada entered the US on a false

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...

and requested

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

. Presidents

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

of Cuba and

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

both demanded extradition. He lived in Miami until he was detained by homeland security following an interview he gave to the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

'', in which he claimed to have entered the US without papers. He was then placed under house arrest. In September 2005 a US immigration judge ruled he could not be extradited to Venezuela or Cuba as he faced the threat of torture in these countries. In January 2009 Posada was indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, immigration fraud, and perjury by a federal grand jury. He was cleared on all counts in April 2011. Havana 1973 Hotel Capri

In popular culture

Film

* '' Wasp Network'', 2019.

Literature

* ''The Last Soldiers of the Cold War'' by Fernando Morais, 2011.

References

External links

A Bombers Tale: Key Cuba Foe Claims Exiles' Backing
by Ann Louise Bardach, ''

'', July 12, 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuba hotel bombings 1997 building bombings 1997 crimes in Cuba Terrorist incidents in North America in 1997 Terrorist incidents in Cuba Attacks on hotels in North America 1990s murders in Cuba 1997 murders in North America Hotel bombings Building bombings in North America Anti-communist terrorism 20th century in Havana Crime in Havana