Father accuses U.S. government his son's death in bombing

CNN March 9, 1999 Father accuses U.S. government his son's death in bombing

                  HAVANA (AP) -- The father of an Italian killed in the bombing of a
                  Havana hotel has accused the United States and violent Cuban exiles of
                  masterminding the plot leading to his son's death.

The written statement was read Tuesday at the trial of a Salvadoran man
who faces the death penalty for the string of bombings.

                  The victim's father, Justino di Celmo, blamed "the United States government
                  and the counterrevolutionary mafia of Miami" for the death of his son, Fabio
                  di Celmo, in a Sept. 4, 1997, explosion at the Copacabana Hotel. His
                  statement was carried by Cuba's Prensa Latina news agency.

                  Cuban officials say the activities of Raul Ernesto Cruz Leon, and another
                  Salvadoran to be tried next week, were financed by the Miami-based
                  Cuban American National Foundation and organized by Luis Posadas
                  Carriles, a Cuban exile. The foundation has denied the allegations.

                  The New York Times reported in July that Posada Carriles had admitted
                  backing attempts to bomb Cuban tourist facilities. He told the paper that the
                  foundation helped finance those attacks.

Posada Carriles later said he had lied about the involvement of the
foundation but did not deny his own alleged role.

                  Authorities here say Cruz Leon was a U.S.-trained Salvadoran army veteran
                  who was hired by "counterrevolutionaries" to conduct bombings at five
                  hotels and a restaurant, at a price of dlrs 4,500 each. In addition to the one
                  death, 11 people were injured in the bombings, including seven foreigners.

The attacks were aimed at frightening away tourists, who provide one of
Cuba's most important sources of income.

Cruz Leon told a five-member tribunal on Monday that his motivation had
been financial, not political.

                  His trial could last up to five days. If convicted, Cruz Leon faces execution
                  by firing squad. All death sentences are automatically appealed to the
                  Supreme Court.

                  The trial comes amid a toughening stance against opponents by the Cuban
                  government, which sees itself under increasing attack by the U.S.
                  government and the Miami-based exile community.

                  On March 1, four well-known dissidents were tried by a closed court on
                  charges of furthering U.S. policies against the communist country. The
                  verdicts from that trial are still pending.