CUBAN EXILE
ORGANIZATIONS
HARD-LINE: 1970s
[REF: binder part 7 ]
COORDINATION OF UNITED REVOLUTIONARY ORGANIZATIONS
(CORU)
This umbrella coalition was the result of a meeting which was held in Dominican
Republic throughout June 12-13, 1976. The following anti-Castro organizations
participated in those meetings and became the integral core of CORU.
Note: in April of 1980, Junta Patriotica Cubana (Cuban Patriotic Coalition)
replaced CORU as the self proclaimed central organizational structure of
the anti-Castro community.
EL PODER CUBANO
(CUBAN POWER OR ACCION CUBANA)
Originally established in the mid-1960s and headed by Dr. Orlando Bosch,
this organization was responsible for the first acts of terrorism committed
by an anti-Castro group on U.S. soil. Besides Bosch, original group
members consisted of:
Garcia, Juan (financial backer)
Cornillot, Hector
Bosco, Omar
Kabba, Ovidio
Constanza, Aton
Tamayo, Puly
Gonzalez Grajales, Luis
Gonzalez, Andres J. (Bombillo)
Balan Garcia, Barbaro
Mulet, Jose A.
Diaz, Jose
Rodriguez, Marco
Upon Bosch's departure and later incarceration in Venezuela, Cuban Power
disbanded. Bosch established Accion Cubana in the early 1970s for the purpose
of collecting funds to subsidize his operations. Original Accion Cubana
group members included:
Cuervo, Silas
Perez Alamo, Dunney
Isa, Miguel
Colmenares, Jose A.
Roig, Pedro
de Castroverde, Waldo
Mendoza Rolando
MOVIMIENTO NACIONALISTA CUBANO (MNC)
(CUBAN NATIONALIST MOVEMENT)
The MNC was formed in 1963 and was associated with the Cuban terrorist organization
FLNC (headquartered in Miami). The organization conducted acts of terrorism
in several areas of the U.S., inclusive of New Jersey, New York, Washington
D.C., and Miami, FL.
In 1964, group member Guillermo Novo Sampol fired a bazooka at the United
Nations building as Ernesto "Che" Guevara prepared to address the General
Assembly of that organization. Three years later, group leader Felipe
Rivero was held on suspicion of possible involvement in a terrorist plot
to explode a Cuban pavilion at the Expo 67 Fair in Montreal, Canada.
During the investigation into the homicide of Jose E. De La Torriente (April
12, 1974), members of this group were identified by a confidential source
as having conspired to assassinate De La Torriente.
In 1976, group members Jose Dionisio Suarez, Guillermo Novo Sampol, Ignacio
Novo Sampol, and Alvin Ross Diaz, were charged with the murder of Chilean
diplomat Orlando Letelier and his assistant Ronnie Moffit. At the time
Felipe Rivero was suspected of having masterminded the plot along with agents
of Augusto Pinochet's Chilean Government. Charges against Rivero never
materialized, and as a result, he continued his operations in South Florida
and New York City. Jose Dionisio Suarez was found guilty and sentenced
to 12 years in prison. All other group members involved in the Letelier
incident were originally found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment;
however, their conviction was later overturned by an appeals court.
As a result of the negative publicity generated by the Letelier incident,
the MNC was disbanded. Group members included:
Suarez Esquivel, Jose Dionisio --- Pulido,
Dr. Juan B.
Rivero, Felipe --- Novo Sampol, Guillermo
Novo Sampol, Ignacio --- Vilaboa, Napoleon
Mendez, Antonio --- Medina, Luis
Martinez, J.A. --- Atienza,
FRENTE DE LIBERACION NACIONAL DE CUBA (FLNC)
(CUBAN NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT)
At its inception the FLNC served as an umbrella organization for several
other Cuban revolutionary groups located in Miami, New York, New Jersey,
and outside the U.S. It is believed that internal problems caused a
splintering of the group and several group members continued their terrorist
activities as members of Omega 7 and MNC. Several FLNC members later
became involved in narcotics trafficking.
On October 5, 1975, Humberto Lopez, Jr. (injured in an explosion while assembling
a book bomb on March 20, 1974), a fugitive and identified member of FLNC,
was arrested by the FBI at Miami International Airport. Lopez Jr. was
deported to the Dominican Republic where he was arrested by local authorities
for violation of immigration laws. Lopez Jr's arrest was allegedly
the reason behind the bombing of the Dominican Consulate in Miami, on October
6, 1975.
From evidence gathered in the bombing of the Dominican Republic Consulate
and the bombing of the Russian Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, which occurred
on September 27, 1975, authorities could deduce that in those two bombings
the perpetrators meant to do harm not only to the buildings but also to the
occupants of the structures.
Frank Castro, alleged FLNC leader, was arrested at Miami International Airport
upon returning to Miami from Colombia on September 27, 1975 (the same day
of the bombing of the Russian Embassy). The following persons were
identified as members of the FLNC:
Castro, Frank --- Lopez Jr.,
Humberto
Acosta, Orlando "Bebo" --- Perez Dorestes, Rafael
Arce, Sixto --- Muniz, Antonio
Angulo, Oscar --- Sayus Jr., Alfredo
Lopez Avalo, Rogelio
Other CORU organizations included Brigade 2506 (possible group members acting
on their own behalf and Jovenes de la Estrella (Youth of the Star), an obscure
group led by Ramon Rodriguez.
NON-CORU ORGANIZATIONS
MOVIMIENTO INSURRECCIONAL MARTIANO (MIM)
INSURRECTIONAL JOSE MARTI MOVEMENT
MIM was formed in July of 1974 by former MNC member Hector Alfonso Ruiz (aka
Hector Fabian) with the alleged purpose of carrying out terrorist acts against
all Cuban Government installations or associates.
In April of 1975, MIM carried out several bombings throughout the United
States. The group claimed responsibility for the bombings under the
code name of "Joven Cuba Nacionalista and Los Cruzados". At the time,
MIM received support and economic funding from the Cuban Federation of Masons
and from Juan Garcia Cardenas, a convicted bomber in 1968, and former member
of Cuban Power.
In the latter part of the 1970s, MIM leadership suffered a severe split and
separated into two factions. One of the factions was headed by Ramon
Saul Sanchez (Omega 7 member and present Cuban National Commission leader),
the other faction was retained by Hector Alfonso Ruiz and convicted bomber
Luis Crespo. Crespo has continued to infiltrate Cuba in order to conduct
sabotage missions. MIM members included:
Alfonso Ruiz, Hector --- Sanchez,
Ramon
Crespo, Luis --- Perez, Jenaro
Lopez Avalo, Rogelio --- Hernandez, Francisco
Alvarino, Armando ---
Cabrera, Jose
Aguilar Manuel --- Campo, Jose
Rodriguez, Jose --- Suarez, Enrique
Miguel, Guillermo --- Gonzalez, Sergio
De La Vega, Sergio --- Hernandez, Hilario
Hernandez, Juan
ABDALA
The name Abdala came from the first epic poem written by Cuban patriot Jose
Marti, about an Arab prince who forfeited all his possessions for the sake
of his nation.
Abdala was founded in 1968 by Gustavo Marin Duarte and consisted mostly of
young Cuban male militants. The group held an annual congress each
year in order to proclaim the liberation of Cuba and all other communist
ruled countries.
In 1972, the group demonstrated against the docking of Russian ships in Miami.
In 1975, the group claimed credit for the bombing of the Torch of Friendship
in Downtown, Miami and the bombing of the Venezuelan Consulate in New York
City. Allegedly, group members were also responsible for the bombing
assassination of Rolando Masferrer in 1975.
In 1975 Abdala demonstrated in front of the Metro Justice Building as a result
of the arrest of several group members. In 1982, the group demonstrated
at the Miami Police Department after a violent demonstration between police
and Cuban demonstrators. Though it appears that the organization has
since disbanded, its leader Gustavo Marin Duarte has remained actively involved
in Cuban exile activities. Group members included:
Marin Duarte, Gustavo
Alvarez, Lazaro
Viota, Leonardo
Font, Jose Antonio
LIGA ANTICOMUNISTA CUBANA (LAC)
ANTI-COMMUNIST LEAGUE
This organization formed in May 1975 with the purpose of attempting to control
all other revolutionary groups in Miami and with hope of becoming an international
anti-communist organization. Another reason given for the creation
of this organization was to educate Cuban exiles in the art of passive activist
tactics. This group had amongst its leaders, individuals who had been
arrested for neutrality violations and other criminal statutes.
The main leader of this group was Hector Duran, Press Attache for the Chilean
Consulate in Miami. Other members included:
Acosta, Orlando "Bebo" --- Aleman Jr., Jose
Angulo, Oscar --- Cervera, Javier
De La Fe, Ramiro --- Gonzalez, Hiram
Martinez, Eugenio R. ---
Torres Jimenez, Rafael
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