Executions Cuba

Sons and nephews of four military and intelligence officers shot last month by a Cuban firing squad broke into a cemetery and scuffled with security police in a vain attempt to claim the executed men's bodies before their secret burial, according to human rights activists who have been in touch with the families.

Three dozen U.S. travel industry executives defied a Bush administration crackdown on American travel to communist Cuba and visited the island on Sunday to study its future business potential. The group, whose industry stands to gain the most from the lifting of a U.S. ban on travel to Cuba currently being debated in Congress, was welcomed with a champagne breakfast to the strains of salsa music and a tour of the city's hotels.

A Cuban firing squad Monday executed a Cuban exile from the United States who had been found guilty of planning terrorist attacks against the Communist-ruled island, the Cuban news agency Prensa Latina reported. Eduardo Diaz Betancourt, 38, was shot after Cuba's Supreme Court and the ruling Council of State turned down appeals for clemency, it said. He was one of three Miami men seized Dec. 29 after crossing the Florida Straits, reportedly armed with guns and explosives.

A Cuban firing squad Monday executed a Cuban exile from the United States who had been found guilty of planning terrorist attacks against the Communist-ruled island, the Cuban news agency Prensa Latina reported. Eduardo Diaz Betancourt, 38, was shot after Cuba's Supreme Court and the ruling Council of State turned down appeals for clemency, it said. He was one of three Miami men seized Dec. 29 after crossing the Florida Straits, reportedly armed with guns and explosives.

Cuba announced Sunday that its highest government council has upheld the death penalty against one of three Miami-based Cuban exiles convicted of landing on the Communist-ruled island armed for a sabotage mission. The Council of State, led by President Fidel Castro, also commuted the death penalty against a second convicted man to 30 years in prison. The third man had also been condemned to death but the Supreme Court commuted his sentence Thursday to 30 years, the maximum prison term in Cuba.

Cuban war hero Gen. Arnaldo Ochoa Sanchez, who fought alongside Fidel Castro in the revolution 30 years ago, was executed by firing squad at dawn Thursday along with three other officers after being convicted in a $3-million drug-smuggling and corruption scandal. Their deaths, reported by the Cuban news agency AIN, came as no surprise to a nation that for a month watched the progress of the trial on television.

Three dozen U.S. travel industry executives defied a Bush administration crackdown on American travel to communist Cuba and visited the island on Sunday to study its future business potential. The group, whose industry stands to gain the most from the lifting of a U.S. ban on travel to Cuba currently being debated in Congress, was welcomed with a champagne breakfast to the strains of salsa music and a tour of the city's hotels.

Cuba announced Sunday that its highest government council has upheld the death penalty against one of three Miami-based Cuban exiles convicted of landing on the Communist-ruled island armed for a sabotage mission. The Council of State, led by President Fidel Castro, also commuted the death penalty against a second convicted man to 30 years in prison. The third man had also been condemned to death but the Supreme Court commuted his sentence Thursday to 30 years, the maximum prison term in Cuba.

Sons and nephews of four military and intelligence officers shot last month by a Cuban firing squad broke into a cemetery and scuffled with security police in a vain attempt to claim the executed men's bodies before their secret burial, according to human rights activists who have been in touch with the families.

Cuban war hero Gen. Arnaldo Ochoa Sanchez, who fought alongside Fidel Castro in the revolution 30 years ago, was executed by firing squad at dawn Thursday along with three other officers after being convicted in a $3-million drug-smuggling and corruption scandal. Their deaths, reported by the Cuban news agency AIN, came as no surprise to a nation that for a month watched the progress of the trial on television.