| For Immediate Release Jan 9, 2001 |
Contact: Press Office 202-646-5172 |
Clinton Administration Coddled Murderous Cuban Dictator Castro Despite His Personal Involvement In the Deaths of American Search and Rescue Crews in February 1996 (Washington DC) Judicial Watch said today that it is representing �Brothers to the Rescue� (BTTR), an American humanitarian organization based in South Florida, in its request for a meeting with President-Elect George W. Bush and Housing and Urban Development Secretary-Nominee Mel Martinez to discuss Communist Cuba�s shoot down of two of their aircraft. On February 24, 1996, three US citizens and one resident of Florida were murdered when two civilian BTTR aircraft, on a humanitarian search and rescue mission, were ambushed in international airspace over the Florida Straits by Cuban MiGs under the direct orders of Fidel Castro. The Clinton Justice Department has failed to take any meaningful criminal action against those persons directly responsible for the shoot down of the BTTR aircraft and the deaths of the crew members. An investigation by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) condemned the Cuban government for the shoot down. Castro has bragged to both Time magazine and to the CBS television show �60 Minutes� that he �takes responsibility for what happened� and that one of his emissaries had received promises from the �highest levels� of the Clinton Administration concerning BTTR flights. Since its first term, the Clinton Administration has pursued a policy of appeasement and reconciliation with Castro, while thousands of Cuban �rafters� have perished fleeing his brutal communist regime. �Brothers to the Rescue possesses compelling evidence, compiled over the past five years, that clearly identifies those responsible for the shoot down, as well as persons who had foreknowledge of the attack and those involved in the politically motivated cover-up of this atrocity,� stated Brothers to the Rescue President Jos� Basulto. �Castro murdered Americans, and the Clinton Administration stood by and did nothing � we hope the new administration is willing to hold Castro and others responsible for this tragic loss of life,� Basulto added. The Brothers to the Rescue web site is www.hermanos.org . | |