The Miami Herald
Feb. 24, 2002

Events recall day four exiles lost lives

                      BY ELAINE DE VALLE

                     Truth. Justice.

                      Those remain the goals for the friends and supporters of the Brothers to the Rescue fliers shot down
                      six years ago as they gather this weekend for anniversary commemorations.

                      At Opa-locka Airport on Saturday, the organization took the opportunity to call again for the indictment
                      of Fidel Castro over the ''murderous act'' Feb. 24, 1996, when Cuban government MiGs shot down two
                      unarmed, civilian Cessnas belonging to the exile group in international airspace.

                      Four men -- Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña and Pablo Morales -- were killed.

                      Brothers founder José Basulto, who survived that day's attack in a third plane, directed his call for the
                      indictments -- not only for Castro, but for his brother Raul and the MiG pilots who later boasted
                      profanely -- to President Bush and his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, saying both should pay attention to the
                      wishes of Cuban-American voters.

                      The organization also said it would present its first-ever Truth and Justice Award to Judicial Watch
                      executive director Larry Klayman for his efforts to get an indictment.

                      At least 12 other exile organizations -- including Agenda Cuba, the Cuban American National
                      Foundation, Democracy Movement and the Cuban Democratic Directorate -- pledged their support.

                      The Democracy Movement's Ramón Saúl Sánchez said two of that organization's planes would join two
                      Brothers planes on a memorial flight today to a spot about 28 miles north of the Cuban coast, near
                      where the two planes were blown apart.

                      Basulto also said the organization planned to broadcast the flight on its weekly radio show, En Primera
                      Persona (In the First Person) beginning at 1 p.m. today on WQBA-AM (1140).

                      Basulto also used the anniversary to announce plans for a billboard campaign that he said will educate
                      Americans about Castro's ties to terrorists. He unveiled the first design: four photographs -- Saddam
                      Hussein, Osama bin Laden, Moammar Gadhafi and Castro -- under the question, 'Who said in Iran, in
                      May 2001...? `Iran and Cuba can bring America to its knees.' '' The answer is in the bigger color
                      photograph of a stern-faced Castro, finger raised.

                      Basulto said he will collect donations from the community to place billboards across the country,
                      particularly in states -- such as Illinois, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington -- from which
                      elected officials and business people have recently visited the communist-ruled island.

                      At the news conference, the mother of Pablo Morales sat mostly silent. Eva Barbas, 77, does not speak
                      English and could not understand most of the words that were spoken. But she understood the
                      context.

                      ''I ask President Bush, as a mother, to take pity on me and bring justice to those who assassinated my
                      son,'' Barbas said.