Salvadoran to be tried for terrorism in hotel bombing

CNN March 7, 1999 Salvadoran to be tried for terrorism in hotel bombing

                  HAVANA (AP) -- Behind the imposing stone walls of the Fortress of San
                  Carlos de la Cabana, hundreds of people have been tried and put to death
                  for crimes against the state.

In the late 1800s, Spain used the fortress across the bay from Havana to
court-martial and execute Cubans fighting for independence.

                  In 1959 and the early 1960s, Cuba's nascent communist government made
                  the fortress the site of hundreds of courts-martial and subsequent executions
                  by firing squad.

                  On Monday, a five-member tribunal was traveling to La Cabana to try
                  Salvadoran Raul Ernesto Cruz Leon, charged with terrorism for the 1997
                  bombing attacks of tourist facilities that killed one person and injured 11
                  people, including seven foreigners. The prosecution has asked for the death
                  penalty.

The choice of La Cabana is highly symbolic.

Since completion by the Spanish in 1774, the complex has been seen as the
ultimate sentry protecting not only Havana but the Cuban Republic.

It also has long been a site of military-style justice, a place where those who
violently attacked the state were judged and put to death.

In announcing the trial date for Cruz Leon, Cuba recently vowed to be
"unrelenting with the enemies of the people."

                  Amid a new crackdown on crime, it is probable that Havana's Popular
                  Provincial Tribunal will follow the prosecution's recommendation for capital
                  punishment.

The death penalty was common in Cuba in the 1960s and 1970s but has
been rare in the past two decades. Execution is by firing squad.

All death sentences are automatically appealed to Cuba's Supreme Court.

                  Salvadoran President Armando Calderon last week said he would ask
                  countries to pressure Cuba to provide a fair trial for Cruz Leon. Cuban
                  officials have vowed to follow due process.

                  Cuban authorities describe Cruz Leon as a U.S.-trained Salvadoran army
                  veteran who received dlrs 4,500 for each of six bombings at five hotels and
                  a restaurant. Traces of explosives were found on his hands and he had plans
                  for planting bombs when he was arrested.

                  Cruz Leon admitted to the bombings on Cuban television, including the Sept.
                  4, 1997, bombing of the Copacabana hotel, which killed Fabio di Celmo,
                  32, of Italy, and injured seven others.

                  The bombings apparently were aimed at harming Cuba's modest economic
                  gains by frightening away tourists, who provide one of the country's most
                  important sources of income.

On March 15, the government will try another Salvadoran, Otto Rene
Rodriguez Llerena, on terrorism charges.

                  He was arrested at the airport in June with a package of plastic explosives
                  and other items the government said were designed "to undertake terrorist
                  activities." Prosecutors are seeking a 30-year prison term.

                  Cuban officials say both men have said their activities were financed by the
                  Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation and organized by Luis
                  Posadas Carriles, a Cuban exile. The foundation has denied the allegations.

                  The New York Times reported last July that Posada Carriles had admitted
                  backing attempts to bomb Cuban tourist facilities. The newspaper reported
                  that he said the foundation helped finance those attacks.

Posada Carriles later said he had lied about the involvement of the
foundation but did not deny his own alleged role.