By Carlos Martinez

What at first appeared to be the work of "one or two nuts" seeking to spoil local U.S.-Cuban relations turned into an organized war of bombs early Thursday with the synchronized blasts at three small Miami businesses. Two of them were owned by exiles.

The blasts - all occurring within a 22-minute span starting at 1:48 a.m. - were believed to be the doings of a clandestine organization calling itself "Cuban Power," which took credit for a weekend bombing of a plane parked at Miami International Airport.

The plane incident and two of the explosions are being linked by investigators. The plane was loading supplies sent by exiles to relatives in Cuba. Two of the planes bombed are freight forwarding firms referring exile-purchased supplies to the island.

The freight forwarders were All Cargo Transport Inc., of 1707 Coral Way, and Servicios Especializados, of 3526 W. Flagler. Both were operated by exiles.

A third explosion at the American-owned Tiger's Garage at 333 SW 17^th Ave., has investigators perplexed. Its owner, Jess Tiger Toback, said he didn't know why his business was hit.

"I'm an American, I've got nothing to say about Cuba and I couldn't care less. I have some Cuban customers but not dissatisfied ones," Toback said. He estimated damage at $300.

Police Sgt. Russ Leasburg suffered minor cuts while investigating the blast at Servicios Especializados when a second explosive detonated apparently by accident, Lt. James H. Knight said. Leasburg was treated at Jackson Memorial Hospital and released.

Knight added the bombers used C-4 plastic explosive with copper acid-actuated deteriorating cabs. He said the explosives were placed in business-sized envelopes and slipped through the mail slots, exploding when the acid did the job.

The FBI, which entered the investigation following the airport blast, reportedly has send remains of the envelopes to its paper laboratory in Washington.

The so-called Cuban Power outfit, an unheard of organization which exiles had claimed could be formed by "one or two nuts" wanting to make them look bad, declared an all-out war on shipments to Cuba in a three-page declaration mailed to local news media Tuesday.

In statement, labeled "War Communiqué Number One," the group claimed credit for the plane bombing and promised to continue the bombings on grounds that sending food and medicine to Cuba "attenuates the uneasiness being felt in the island."

The group also threatened U.S. Postal Authorities with a bomb unless they stop processing mail and medicine packages to Cuba. (Only letters and medicine packages are allowed use of the U.S. mails; food and merchandise shipments must be handled by freight forwarders).

Jose Valdes, owner of Servicios Especializados, estimated damage done to his small business at $1,000. A front window and a glass door were shattered, with the furniture and office equipment also receiving damage. A small Cuban-owned shop next to Valdes received minor damage.

"I had been expecting it for awhile," a worried Valdes said. "These people are trying to stop shipments to Cuba, claiming this is a way of helping Castro."

"This is wrong," Valdes argued. "Castro doesn't get anything from the packages, only the duties they charge the recipients in Cuba. We're not even sending spare parts of machinery which the government needs."

One of less than a dozen exile freight forwarders, Valdes said he had been sending an average 200 weekly packages to the island. He said the packages are sent either to Merida, Mexico City, Canada or Spain for reshipment to Cuba.

"Who with good conscience can protest the sending of food and medicine?" he asked. "These shipments are a sort of public service to the people of Cuba."

J. Astigarrara, operator of All Cargo Transport Inc., on Coral Way, blamed Cuban Power for the bombing, which damaged part of his business' ceiling and blew out the store front. A barber shop on one side and a camera store on the other also suffered damage.

Miami's Cuban exile organizations, meanwhile, reacted against the terrorism. Even Felipe Rivero, who was jailed by the U.S. for nearly six months last year for heading a group advocating terrorism, condemned the way in which it was done.

"Terrorism should be done in a rational way," the leader of the Cuban Nationalist Movement said. "There should be Communist targets. You cannot attempt in an irrational way against everything you consider could benefit communism."

"I don't approve this because I don't think the Cuban Communist regime would crumble or would find itself in grave danger because a few old ladies and a few babies receiving medicines or powdered milk from the U.S."

Another group opposing the bombings was the Cuban Representation in Exile (RECE), one of the largest anti-Castro groups here. The RECE made it clear that they don't agree with such terroristic tactics.

"The desperation of Cuban exiles in the face of American policy avoiding all direct action against Castro brings exiles to such tactics," a group spokesman said.

Luis Conte Aguero, a prominent exile leader, said he could not comment on the bombings but made it clear that he was opposed to shipping everything expect medicines to Cuba.

Conte was one of three exile figures - the others were Enrique Huertas and Manual Artime - threatened by Cuban Power in their war communiqué.

The Cuban leader said he couldn't explain the threat, claiming he had been opposing non-medicine shipments to Cuba "since last October."