And, as if to pour even more salt on the wound, just two hours before the US illegal invasion of Iraq, a Cuban commercial plane was hijacked from the island of Youth. On the last scheduled flight from the island that day, six individuals, armed with knives similar to the ones used on September 11, 2001, stormed the cockpit and threatened the pilot and copilot if they didn't redirect the flight to the US. The flight eventually landed in Key West under US Air Force escort. On April 10, 2003, all six hijackers were released on bail and the charges eventually dropped. This was the same result as in past hijackings and gave hope to all would-be hijackers that they will never be prosecuted in the US for their crimes.
Indeed on March 29, news was leaked back to the island that the six hijackers were due to be released soon. This was exactly the update that one man was waiting for and on March 31, he decided to hijack another plane from the same island. Sometime during the flight, he told a stewardess that he had two grenades and was going to blow the plane up if it didn't go to the US. Unfortunately, this time the plane didn't have enough fuel to make it and had to land in Havana.
President Castro decided to personally intervene. While he surmised the situation and the possible options for the safety of the passengers, the American liaison, James Cason, calmly slept at home. Finally, around 1:00 am, the American State Department awakened Cason and told him to deliver a message to the Cuban government and President Castro. The US was opposed to any hijackings and would not allow the plane to land in the US.
But then the US sent in another message, they could proceed to the US. Back and forth the messages came, the next one even more confusing than the last. Finally, the next morning the news was given that the hijacked plane would be allowed to fly to Key West. Upon arrival all the passengers, including the entire flight crew, were bound and gagged and told to lie on the tarmac next to the plane. Many were promised money and a great life if they stayed.
But, an even more horrific hijacking started just a few hours later. A ferry boat on its way to Mariel was captured by 11 heavily armed terrorists and 29 passengers were held captive as they demanded that the flat-bottomed boat be taken across high seas to the US. As could be expected, within hours, the boat ran out of fuel and was disabled in the choppy waters just a few miles off the coast of Cuba.
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