USA should take action against Cuban exile terrorists
Stabroek News
October 16, 2001

Dear Editor

Saturday's Stabroek News carried a much needed article [ please note: link provided by LOSP web site ] on the Cubana bombing of 1976. It serves to bring home to us the personal horror and undeserved sorrow that these indiscriminate acts of terrorism entail.

The article contained two small but significant inaccuracies: (1) The aircraft was not "blown to bits" in mid air. The bomb caused an intense fire and everyone on board, including the cream of Guyana's youth, died horribly as the cabin filled with dense smoke and the aircraft plunged into the sea. (2) Orlando Bosch is not believed to have been the "mastermind" behind this attrocity but one of the two passengers who took the bomb onto the aircraft and later disembarked. Authorship of the atrocity was claimed by the El Condor anti-Cuban terrorist organization based in Florida, where Bosch - as your article says - still walks free.

The very sad thing about this 25-year-old event is its close analogy to the present tragedies in N.York and Washington, and the question which must be asked is: until the USA takes some action, even now, to yield up Bosch for trial; to crack down upon (rather than tacitly to encourage) inshore organizations such as El Condor; and to prevent the collection and export of funds (such as "Noraid") for the support of overseas terrorist groups (e.g. the IRA) how can its present actions against Afghanistan be regarded as anything other than those of a hypocrite and a bully?

Yours faithfully ,

Simon Smartt

Alison Ramoutar

Leslie McGibbon