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Hermanos al rescate. Imágenes del derribo de dos aviones Cessna 337 de "Hermanos al Rescate" por la Fuerza Aérea Cubana, ocurrido el 24 de Febrero de 1996.
Formado por exiliados cubanos , el grupo fue ampliamente conocido por su oposición a la revolucion cubana y el gobierno, entonces presidente, Fidel Castro. El grupo se formó en 1991 y se describia a sí mismo como una organización humanitaria con el objetivo de ayudar y rescatar a los balseros que trataban de emigrar de Cuba y de "apoyar los esfuerzos del pueblo cubano a liberarse de la dictadura a través del uso de la no-violencia".
El gobierno cubano por el contrario los acusa de estar implicadas en actos terroristas. En el curso de muchos vuelos a lo largo de la década de 1990, el grupo de aviones hizo repetidas incursiones en territorio cubano. Si bien estos fueron considerados ampliamente violaciones del espacio aéreo, "Hermanos al Rescate" cree que se trataba de actos de resistencia legítima contra el gobierno. En 1996, dos avionetas de Hermanos al Rescate fueron derribados por la Fuerza Aérea cubana, dando lugar a la condena internacional. De este suceso se hizo pública una grabación de los propios ejecutores.
Los derribados no estaban bélicamente equipados.
Website de Hermanos al Rescate:
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Brothers to the Rescue
Brothers to the Rescue (Spanish: Hermanos al Rescate) is a Miami-based activist organization headed by José Basulto. Formed by Cuban exiles, the group is widely known for its opposition to the Cuban government and, then President, Fidel Castro. The group formed in 1991 and describes itself as a humanitarian organization aiming to assist and rescue raft refugees emigrating from Cuba and to "support the efforts of the Cuban people to free themselves from dictatorship through the use of active nonviolence".
The Cuban government on the other hand accuses them of involvement in terrorist acts. In the course of many flights throughout the early 1990s, the group's planes made repeated incursions into Cuban territory. While these were widely considered airspace violations, Brothers to the Rescue believes that these were acts of legitimate resistance against the government. In 1996, ignoring a final warning by Cuba, two Brothers to the Rescue planes were shot down by the Cuban Air Force, leading to international condemnation.
Website of Brothers to the Rescue - Background and information:
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JOSE BASULTO
José Basulto (born Jose Jesus Basulto Leon in 8 August 1940 in Santiago de Cuba) is the leader of the Cuban exile organization Brothers to the Rescue. The group, whose stated purpose was to assist Cuban emigrant rafters fleeing from the country. Basulto is considered a terrorist by the Cuban government. Since the Cuban Revolution, Basulto participated in various activities intended to subvert or overthrow the Cuban government. After the revolution, he was trained by the CIA in intelligence, communications, explosives, sabotage and subversion in Panama, Guatemala, and the United States. He was later placed back into Cuba, posing as a physics student at the University of Santiago to help prepare the ground for the Bay of Pigs Invasion. In 1961, under CIA sponsorship, Basulto infiltrated Cuba for a commando operation intended to sabotage an alleged missile site, a mission which was ultimately aborted. In August 1962 he took a boat to Cuba and fired a 20 mm cannon at a hotel, though nobody was killed in the incident. In the 1980s Basulto flew medical supplies to the Nicaraguan Contras.
Ever since the Cuban government shot down the planes, Basulto has sought to have criminal and civil charges pressed over the matter. He was awarded a $1.7 million judgement in January 2005. On May 24 of that same year, Basulto announced a one million dollar reward for information leading to the indictment of Raúl Castro on drug charges or charges related to the shooting of the Hermanos planes. ""It would throw a wrench in the machinery", Basulto said of a possible indictment.
