Cuba Arrests Four Exiles From Miami, Accused Of Plotting Terrorist Acts

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Cuba's Interior Ministry has announced that four Cuban exiles from Miami were arrested after they allegedly planned to carry out terrorist attacks on military installations.

In a statement published Wednesday in the Communist Party newspaper Granma, the ministry reported the men were arrested April 26th. It identified the men as José Ortega Amador, Obdulio Rodríguez González, Raibel Pacheco Santos and Félix Monzón Álvarez.

CBS4's Marybel Rodriguez spoke with Maria Montoya, the property manager where it is believed that Pacheco lives in Hialeah.

"I am very surprised he is a very formal young man I only see him once a month to pay the rent," said Montoya.

Three of these men, according to the statement, traveled to Cuba several times last year for planning purposes.

The ministry statement also claims that the men admitted that they were planning to attack military installations with the goal of promoting violent actions. The men are part of an organized group in Miami who have close ties to Luis Posada Carriles, as well as the man who the interior ministry describes as the alleged Miami based mastermind Santiago Alvarez.

CBS4's Rodriguez spoke with Alvarez who denied all ties.

"My response the dictatorship as usual are lying this is all a fraud a smoking curtain in order to put the opposition in jail," Alvarez said.

When Rodriguez asked if he knew the men he said, "I do not know them never heard of them maybe I have met them but I don't remember but I definitely never conspired with them," said Alvarez.

The statement concludes by saying that "competent U.S. authorities" have been contacted so that they can "prevent U.S. territory from being used for actions harmful to both countries."

So what will happen to these four Cuban exiles who are now locked up in a Cuban prison?

Juan Tamayo from El Nuevo Herald has been on top of the story since it broke and said that, "The interest section in Havana will be able to visit them and talk to them, take them toothbrushes and toothpaste. They will then be processed through the Cuban legal system unlikely to find them innocent of anything," said Tamayo.

Luis Posada Carriles' attorney Arturo Hernandez said Carriles does not know these men and they believe this is all part of a public relations scheme by the Cuban Government to demonstrate they are the victims of terrorism in light of the State Department's inclusion of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.