August 17, 1968

By Stefanie Pettit and Louise Blanchard

A plastic fragmentation bomb exploded early today in the downtown ticket office of Aeronaves de Mexico, shattering glass walls and windows.

No one was in the Mexican airline office at the time of the explosion, about 6:20 a.m., and there were no injuries. Damage was estimated at about $2,500.

The bomb was of a type which has been used previously in "Cuban Power" bombings directed against countries that continue to trade with Castro's Cuba. There have been several such bombings in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, as well as Miami.

The airline office, at 150 SE 3^rd Avenue, is on the first floor of the five-story Pan American Band Building.

Lt. Harvard Swilley of the Miami Police Department intelligence unit said the bomb apparently was thrown through a window about the ticket office door.

"We have no tangible evidence yet," Lt. Swilley said. "But I would guess the person who threw it was walking. It's quarter-inch glass. It would take a good throw to get it through."

Plate glass windows and ceiling tile were shattered and the office furniture damaged and overturned. The main door, of three-quarter-inch glass, was intact.

Reno Garcia, regional manager of the airline, who was called in after the bombing, said he had no idea why it had been done. The company has not received any menacing phone calls, he said, and he was "completely surprised."

Police, a fire truck, and the city bomb squad were called to the scene at once and the area roped off.

Lt. Swilley said he believed the bombing was part of the "Cuban Power" threat against countries doing business with Cuba. Mexican and British consulates and Spanish tourist agency offices have been bombed.

Rafael Benitez, chairman of the Latin-American Council appointed by the Miami City Commission, said:

"I regret deeply that another incident of this nature has taken place in Miami. I call upon Latin Americans, if they are responsible for this incident, to stop these acts, which are violations of law and endanger life and property."

Benitez, a retired rear admiral of the U.S. Navy, said the "whole Latin American community in Miami" might be the innocent victim of the bombings because they are likely to harm relationships between the United States and Latin American countries.

Police said it was doubtful that the office could be open for business Monday.