Judge: Exclude confessions of two hijackers (Cubans)

[Mika]

So.. some of the violent hijackers are already on their way out of a S. Florida kangaroo court proceeding. Perfect. Its like an open invitation to hijackers.



Judge: Exclude confessions of two hijackers
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/6483668.htm

Confessions by two of six admitted Cuban hijackers should not be used at their trial because FBI agents forgot to give them their Miranda warnings until afterward, a judge recommended in a decision issued Thursday.

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The decision will be unwelcome news in Cuba, where the government has accused the United States of being soft on hijackers.

Infantes and Arias described guarding bound crew members at the back of the plane.

They said other hijackers burst into the cockpit with knives and hustled all but the pilot to the rear.

The hijacked plane was carrying 29 passengers on a domestic flight from the Isle of Youth to Havana.

The hijackers threw out their knives and surrendered in Key West. Several brought along relatives, who were allowed to stay in the United States.

Attorneys on both sides have arranged an investigative trip to Cuba in preparation for a Sept. 8 trial. The air piracy charges carry a possible sentence of 20 years to life in federal prison.

[Judi Lynn]

1. So THIS happens immediately after John Ashcroft

announces he's out to get all judges who are soft on crime! He'd think he'd hit the "Trifecta" rounding up all the soft-on-"exile" judges in Florida, right?

I believe you already know, incidently, that while Ashcroft was a Missouri senator, he favored dropping the Cuban embargo, et al.

I noted the two cops who "arrested" the hijackers were probably both Cuban-Americans, too. I'm sure it choked them up to see their armed "exile" hijackers sidestep punishment for air piracy.

As Jorge Mas Canosa, the "exile" leader said, in all his "exile" modesty, "...They (Americans) haven't even been able to take over Miami. If we kicked them out of here, how could they possibly take over our own country?''

http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/caricature112497.html

[Mika]

2. The US stole the plane also

The hijacked plane was confiscated by the US government, to be sold at auction for an "exile" settlement claim against Cuba.

The plane was sold at an auction for a couple of thousand dollars. Then the buyer discovered that he couldn't legally register the plane because it is already registered by the Cuban government (a plane can't be registered to two parties at the same time, and Cuba's registration is the legally recognized one). It can't be flown, so the buyer scrapped it and sold the parts. A sad end to a beautiful and much needed (in Cuba) classic DC-3. US policies against Cuba simply suck, and end up hurting ordinary Cubans in Cuba.