FIGHTING TERRORISM AND WAR

Court proceedings in connection with terrorist acts and actions

 It would be difficult to list the entire universe of terrorist acts and actions that have been carried out or detected during the preparatory stage over a period of more than 40 years against the people of Cuba by organizations financed by the United States and operating from the territory of that country.

The figures and the examples set out in this report are not exhaustive but reflect most of the actions that were carried out with the intent to destabilize the Cuban State, to create terror among the people and to destroy the national economy. Just the lawsuits brought for SETTING FIRE TO SUGAR CANE FIELDS show that the Cuban economy has suffered losses amounting to more than two billion arrobas of sugar cane, mainly in the provinces of Havana and Matanzas. This is not to mention the cases of sabotage on poultry farms that caused uncountable losses of foodstuffs that had been earmarked for the basic food basket of the population and to supply food for educational and health centres.

A review of such incidents shows that more than 18 different offences are involved in terrorist activity, including the following:

TERRORIST ACTS

PROVINCE (For practical reasons, we shall use the former names of provinces, i.e., those used prior to the new administrative and political divisions that went into effect in 1976).

Oriente (includes the current provinces of Las Tunas, Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Holguín and Guantánamo)

- Broken equipment in factories
- Damage to machinery
- Destruction of storehouses
- Setting fires in towns
- Setting fires in sugar cane fields
- Destruction of electrical wiring system
- Setting fire to primary schools
- Sabotage of electric power plants
- Attacks with firearms against fishermen and peasants
- Placing of bombs in social gathering places
- Assassination of civilians and military personnel

Las Villas (includes the current provinces of Villa Clara, Cienfuegos and Sancti Spiritus)

- Putting ground glass and nails in bread for human consumption
- Placing explosive devices in workplaces and social gathering places
- Armed bands setting fire to peasant homes
- Setting fire to sugar cane fields
- Trafficking in arms and explosives
- Assassination of civilians and military personnel
- Sabotaging railroads
- Sabotaging stores that sell industrial products
- Throwing toxic chemical substances in streams
- Putting shoe tacks in bread dough for human consumption
- Setting fire to stores
- Illegal infiltration into national territory
- Throwing bottles containing flammable liquids into peasant homes
- Throwing gasoline at primary schools
- Assassination of civilians and military personnel

Camagüey (includes the current provinces of Camagüey and Ciego de Ávila)

- Setting fire to urban transport vehicles
- Damaging industrial transport systems
- Placing bombs and explosives in theatres
- Damaging thermoelectric machinery
- Setting fire to storehouses
- Setting fire to public health centres
- Setting fire to primary schools
- Placing explosives in grocery stores
- Destruction of peasant homes
- Setting fire to dairy farms
- Assassination of civilians and military personnel
- Hijacking of aircraft on commercial flights
- Hijacking of crop-dusting aircraft
- Derailing of trains
- Setting fire to sugar cane fields

Havana (includes the current provinces of Havana City, Havana and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud)

- Promoting armed uprisings
- Armed attacks on towns
- Sabotage with explosives
- Setting fire to boats in factories
- Setting fire to sugar cane fields
- Placing bombs in theatres
- Destruction of electrical wiring posts
- Preparing to carry out attacks against the life of President Fidel Castro
- Infiltration by armed individuals into the country
- Setting fire to tobacco curing plants
- Collecting weapons for bands
- Setting fire to plant storehouses
- Sabotaging sugar mills with explosives
- Placing bombs in hotels

These are just some of the acts that were either committed or prevented as a result of their having been discovered during the preparatory stage, which were brought before the courts of the country.

It should be noted that the former province of Havana has suffered the most from such attacks, with a total of 580 cases having been tried by its courts. In addition, it is the territory where most actions were carried out with the intent of physically eliminating President Fidel Castro and other national leaders.

Havana and Matanzas provinces have withstood the greatest economic losses as a result of terrorist acts and actions, including fires in sugar cane fields and damage done to industrial plants. In such instances alone, 394 cases were tried in Matanzas Province.

In a total of 2,004 cases brought before our courts, a total of 5,116 defendants have been tried and sentenced.

TERRORIST ACTS BROUGHT BEFORE THE COURTS (For practical reasons, we shall use the former names of provinces, i.e., those used prior to the new administrative and political divisions that went into effect in 1976).

PROVINCE NUMBER OF CASES TRIED AND SENTENCED

- Havana 580
- Matanzas 394
- Oriente 300
- Las Villas 296
- Camagüey 275
- Pinar del Río 159

Cuban law covers the different types of offences that constitute terrorism. Therefore, as mentioned in the Preamble, it is possible to prevent, prosecute, repress and punish those who commit or participate in terrorist acts.

Law No. 62 (Penal Code), in Book II of the Special Part includes four chapters containing 33 articles on terrorism. These articles provide for very harsh maximum sentences. (The parts of this Code that deal with terrorism and related offences were repealed with the enactment by the National Assembly of People's Power, on 20 December 2001, of the Law against terrorist acts).

The Cuban legal system envisages, inter alia, the following OFFENCES AGAINST STATE SECURITY:

PENAL LEGISLATION

BOOK II

SPECIAL PART

OFFENCES AGAINST STATE SECURITY

OFFENCES AGAINST THE EXTERNAL SECURITY OF THE STATE

- Bearing arms against the State
- Disclosure of secrets concerning State security

OFFENCES AGAINST THE INTERNAL SECURITY OF THE STATE

- Sabotage
- Terrorism

OFFENCES AGAINST PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

- Hostile acts against a foreign State
- Violation of the sovereignty of a foreign State
- Acts against heads and diplomatic representatives of foreign States
- Incitement to war
- Spreading false news against international peace
- Genocide
- Piracy
- Mercenarism
- Crime of apartheid