The Miami Herald
December 30, 1983

New breed of anti-Castro militant moves to Miami

By JIM McGEE

There is now evidence that Miami has become home for a new breed of anti-Castro terrorist.

Since 1980, alleged anti-Castro terrorists have gradually migrated from New Jersey, the center of exile terrorism in the late 1970's, to Miami, the original base of the terrorist underground.

Unlike their more flamboyant predecessors, these new fighters against Castro generally shun publicity. They don't boast of past ties to the CIA. They don't talk about their heroism during the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Today's suspected terrorists wear three-piece suits, hold responsible jobs, raise close-knit families and consult expensive defense lawyers. Major segments of the Cuban exile community consider them patriotic revolutionaries.

Officials say they represent the future of anti-Castro terrorism in America, a persistent phenomena that no amount of government prosecution has extinguished.

"What you're talking about is a cause," said FBI official Stanley Klein, who directs the counterterrorism program at FBI Headquarters. "What you can infer from that is the anti-Castro movement is active and there has been a decided injection of new blood, new people in the anti-Castro movement. It's obvious on its face."

These are the Miami-based exiles that federal officials have said are suspected terrorists:

Eduardo Arocena, 40, owner of a Miami import-export firm, is portrayed in recent indictments and by FBI officials as the leader of the Omega 7 terrorist group and chief architect of a six-year wave of bombings and murders. A federal judge has described Arocena as "highly intelligent" and his arrest apparently came as a shock to his family. He has been accused in federal indictments unsealed Wednesday of participating in 14 bombings, 11 of them in Miami. Arocena admitted his Omega 7 activities in tape-recorded conversations with an FBI agent and during a brief period of cooperation, officials said. They said he also passed an FBI polygraph test. From his jail cell in New York, Arocena has issued public denials of the FBI's allegations. He has not yet entered a plea to the recent charges.

Pedro Remon, 38, a salesman at Ryder Trucks in Miami, has been identified in court papers that report statements by Arocena that he had been a key Omega 7 member and the "triggerman" in two Omega 7 machine-gun murders.

Remon was initially arrested on an FBI complaint that accused him of placing a bomb under the limousine of a Cuban diplomat. He was named but not charged in a recent indictment of Arocena, Remon is a member of the Miami-based Organization for the Liberation of Cuba [OPLC]. In 1980, .he was arrested with another alleged Omega 7 member in Belleville, N.J., in an incident that Arocena said was part of a failed Omega 7 operation. Remon is being held in New York on a civil contempt charge for refusing to answer questions about Omega 7. He has not yet been indicted and officials say he denies being involved in the terrorist group. His attorney Paul Goldberger said recently: "I'm not convinced they [the government] have any kind of case."

Ramon Sanchez, 32, part owner of a Miami security alarm service, has long been associated with the anti-Castro movement in Miami: Federal officials have alleged in court documents, based on statements by Arocena, that Sanchez built a bomb that was placed beneath the limousine of a Cuban diplomat in 1980. Arocena has also told the FBI that Sanchez provided explosives to another Omega 7 suspect. Like Remon, Sanchez is a member of OPLC. He is presently being held on a civil contempt charge for refusing to answer questions about Omega 7. His lawyer, Adolfo Koss, said the FBI is wrong about Sanchez: "Ramon has no connection with or knowledge of Omega 7 activities and the government has zero proof [he] is an Omega 7 member,"

Jose A. Martinez, 46, supervisor of bridge maintenance for Metro-Dade County, is described in an FBI affidavit as an associate of alleged Omega 7 members. It said he traveled with members of the group to Latin American countries to meet with right-wing officials regarding Omega 7 activities. Until Martinet was named in the affidavit, he lived quietly in Miami with his family and was considered an excellent employee by his MetroDade supervisors. He has not been publicly connected with any bombings. Martinez abruptly resigned his job earlier this month and disappeared after FBI agents confronted him with evidence in the Omega 7 investigation. Presently a fugitive, Martinet is being sought as a material witness in the Omega 7 case. His attorney, Miguel San Pedro, said: "I don't know of any involvement in Omega 7 on his part."

Jose Ignacio Gonzalez, 41, a successful Miami businessman and former insurance salesman, was named in an FBI complaint that said he was present during a confrontation over money to be collected by Omega 7. A former business associate of Arocena in Miami, he figs not been publicly connected to any bombings, but a senior FBI official described Gonzalez as a key member of Omega 7. He was indicted Thursday on two counts of lying under oath before a grand jury investigating Omega 7. He has reportedly denounced the government allegations-as "a bunch of lies", but has not yet entered a plea to the perjury charges. His attorney, Stephen Glass, says Gonzalez is being pursued because of his past business relationship with Arocena: "As far as we're concerned it's innuendo ... Apparently if you know somebody that is [in Omega 7] you're going to be guilty by association."

Guillermo Novo, 44, an advertising executive for WRHC radio station, is described in FBI reports as a principal figure in anti-Castro terrorism. He was convicted in the 1976 bombing murder of former Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier, but that guilty verdict was later overturned on appeal. He was arrested in a 1964 bazooka attack on the United Nations on charges that were later dropped. Novo's tenure as a leader in the now-inactive Cuban Nationalist Movement was interrupted by a jail term on a perjury charge stemming from the Letelier investigation. He was not active in the group when some members were accused of pressuring merchants to contribute money. Novo is highly regarded by WRHC officials and has not been publicly linked to any recent bombings. He declined to comment. Novo attended a recent court hearing held in Miami for Arocena.