Cuban authorities have recently freed a Salvadoran individual who was sentenced for his role in multiple hotel bombings that occurred on the island in 1997. According to a government-managed news outlet, Raul Ernesto Cruz Leon was released after serving a 30-year prison term; however, those who orchestrated the attacks remain unaccounted for by the law.
The Cubadebate website expressed in an editorial that Cruz Leon’s release highlights the integrity of Cuba’s judicial system. Nonetheless, it pointed out that the masterminds behind these terrorist actions have evaded justice, having lived in the United States without facing the consequences of their deeds.
In 1997, assorted hotels and bars in Cuba became targets of bombings conducted by adversaries of Fidel Castro’s government, aiming to disrupt the tourism sector. Among the casualties was an Italian tourist who lost his life during one of the explosions.
These bombings were reportedly orchestrated by Luis Posada Carriles, a Cuban exile who sought asylum in the U.S. in 2005 and passed away in 2018 without ever being prosecuted for his involvement in the attacks. Carriles had previously discussed the bombings in a 1998 interview, expressing regret over the death of Fabio Di Celmo while explaining that the goal was to scare visitors from coming to the island.
This violent period coincided with Castro’s efforts to generate alternative sources of revenue for his struggling government, which was adversely affected by U.S. sanctions and the fall of the Soviet Union.
In a 2011 interview, Cruz Leon admitted to planting a bomb in the Hotel Copacabana that led to the death of the aforementioned Italian tourist. He indicated that the explosives were supplied to him by Francisco Chavez Abarca, another Salvadoran mercenary who was arrested in Venezuela in 2010 and later extradited to Cuba, where he also faced charges for his part in the attacks.
Cruz Leon described himself as a mere soldier who got involved in a conflict that was not his own. Initially sentenced to death, his penalty was commuted to 30 years in prison in 2010. Under the Cuban legal framework, ten months served counts as a full year, facilitating his release in 2024.
Officials in Cuba have not disclosed details regarding Cruz Leon’s whereabouts post-release or issued additional comments about his freedom. The article published by Cubadebate reiterated calls from the Cuban government for the removal of its designation as a state that sponsors terrorism by the U.S. government.
Cuba had been taken off the list in 2015 during the Obama administration as diplomatic relations improved, yet was reinstated as a terrorist-sponsoring nation by the Trump administration. Most recently, this designation followed Cuba’s refusal to comply with Colombia’s request to apprehend certain rebel leaders who were present for peace negotiations.
Colombia’s new leftist government, led by Gustavo Petro, has since rescinded that request and appealed to the U.S. for Cuba’s removal from the terrorism list. The article concluded by criticizing the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state that sponsors terror, referring to it as hypocritical.
