THE SHOOT DOWN OF BROTHERS TO THE RESCUE AIRCRAFT

.February 24, 1996

Three U.S. citizens and a resident of Florida were assassinated on February 24, 1996 when two civilian Brothers to the Rescue aircraft, on a humanitarian mission, were ambushed in international airspace by Cuban MiGs. The shoot down was ordered by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

This premeditated crime remains unpunished and unresolved by U.S. authorities, who are obliged and duty bound to act, under "THE RULE OF LAW", since U.S. citizens and American airplanes were the target of an act of international terrorism perpetrated by Castro’s Cuba.

Fidel Castro and his accomplices in Cuba and the U.S. have not been criminally indicted.

After careful review of the available information and data, obtained by Brothers to the Rescue from expert independent sources and the U.S. government itself, we have enough evidence to prove that the Clinton-Gore Administration:

1. Had prior knowledge of the attack,
2. Consented to the shoot down,
3. Collaborated with Castro’s Cuba to make the crime possible,
4. Covered up its own participation, by using misinformation and efforts to remove evidence and potential witnesses, and
5. Refused to indict and obstructed the criminal indictment of Fidel Castro and others responsible for the crime.

A third aircraft on the mission, piloted by José J. Basulto, miraculously escaped the shootdown, with three other witnesses onboard. Here we present the above mentioned evidence and our testimony.
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CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS LEADING TO THE FEB. 24, 1996 SHOT DOWN OF BROTHERS TO THE RESCUE AIRCRAFT.

BTTR's first encounter with Cuban MiGs triggers a response from U.S. Air Force interceptors and a protocol for BTTR flights (followed on Feb. 24, 1996) intended for its operational safety. The procedures to be followed include: 1) The filing of a flight plan which is provided in advance to the Cubans; 2) a unique transponder code to clearly identify each BTTR aircraft; 3) radio communication with Cuba's air traffic controllers prior to crossing parallel 24 south. This procedure is still followed and this information is still routinely given to the Cuban authorities by the FAA before every BTTR search and rescue mission.
References:
U.S. Coast Guard report of first encounter. Witness on incident and protocol, Mary Ann Zduncyzk, former supervisor for the FAA flight service in Miami, spoke with the Miami Herald. See Tropic Magazine, Feb. 16,1997, pg. 13.

12/19/92

BTTR is warned via radio by the FAA of impending danger and requested to land. BTTR was later advised that MiGs were in its search area.
Witnesses available on request.

1995

The U.S. military takes a "un-official" but important role in secret talks with Cuban Military officials, at Guantanamo, Cuba. A video tape of the "friendly" talks at the Guantanamo Naval Base is leaked to the press and reported in Miami

BTTR organize and participate in several seminars on the subject of nonviolence as a tool for change in Cuba, with the Albert Einstein Institution, The Florida Martin Luther King Jr. Institute for nonviolence and with Ricardo Antocich S.J. a Roman Catholic priest and a scholar on the subject.
These activities were made public.
The Miami Times Feb. 8,1996 pg. 4A, "Spreading King's Message"

07/13/95

BTTR participates in a flotilla, to remember and honor the 41 men, women and children killed on that date the previous year, after the sinking, by the Cuban Navy, of the "13 de Marzo" tug boat. BTTR aircraft flies over Havana to divert the attention of the Cuban command plane away from the boats of the flotilla, when these were being rammed by Cuba's gunboats. The command plane followed one of the BTTR aircraft.
The Miami Herald July 15, 1995 article "Thirteen Minutes Over Havana"

Later in 1995

BTTR makes a commitment to provide relief supplies to the refugee camp in the Bahamas on a weekly basis, typically on Saturdays, and regularly did so. Several organizations including the Red Cross and The Salvation Army participate. Witnesses available.

01/09/96 & 01/13/96

Operation "Martin Luther King Jr.". BTTR drops leaflets containing the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights over Havana, from international air space, taking advantage of meteorological conditions and altitude.
Reference:
BTTR press release Jan. 19, 1996 and Miami Herald Jan. 15,1996 "A Political Deluge"

01/??/96

U.S. Intelligence detects Cuban MiGs practicing air to air missile firing against slow moving aircraft similar to BTTR's. Time Magazine article dated Oct. 28, 1996 page 46. "Clinton's Cuban Road to Florida"

02/12/96

Retired Admiral Eugene Carroll of the Center for Defense Information, reported to the State Department and the Defense Intelligence Agency that during his visit to Cuba the Cuban authorities had asked him and others in his group how the U. S. government would react if Cuba shot down exile planes that violated Cuban air space. Carroll informed the U.S. that he took the question as an indication that Cuban military officials were considering such an action.
See CNN transcript of news show 9:25 am ET Feb. 25,1996

2/13/96

BTTR pledges its support to "Concilio Cubano" and publicly provides an undisclosed donation of funds. Despite acting in accordance with "open" U.S. policy to Cuba, BTTR is not granted a license to assist Concilio Cubano, and is privately criticized by U.S. authorities for acting on its own.
See Miami Herald Feb. 14,1996 pg. 2B "Brothers gives .... " and El Nuevo Herald, Feb. 4,1996 pg. 3A "Nuccio defiende ..."

02/17/96

The U.S. State Department advises various governmental agencies that BTTR may be planning a political statement on 02/24/96, thus creating a dangerous perception of BTTR's intentions. This information was fabricated and probably initiated at the F.B.I. by Cuba's double agent and occasional BTTR pilot Juan Pablo Roque, who later returned to Cuba on 2/23/96 (one day before the shoot down).
See Testimony of Customs radar expert Jeffrey Houlihan at the court hearing of the FAA vs. Jose Basulto. (Mr. Houlihan was a witness for the U.S. Government, not Mr.Basulto.)
Court transcript pg. 361, 362, 364. and Sun Sentinel Feb. 29,1996 "'FBI admits ... "

2/18/96

MiGs practice the shoot-down of a slow flying small aircraft, according to testimony from participant obtained in Tampa.
Miami Herald article dated Aug.7, 1997.

02/??/96

Jeane Kirkpatrik, Reagan's former U.N. Ambassador, informed The Miami Herald that a Clinton administration official, knowledgeable about Cuban affairs, had spoken with her, about his own concern and loss of sleep over his conviction that something dreadful was going to happen to the Brothers planes and volunteers.
See The Miami Herald's Tropic magazine Feb., 16, 1997 pg. 11.

02/23/96

Richard Nuccio, White House expert on Cuban affairs, told Chris Marquis, of the Miami Herald Washington Bureau, that Brothers to the Rescue were headed for a clash with Cuban authorities the next day.
Tropic Magazine Feb., 16, 1997 pg. 12.

The International Civil Aviation Organization ("ICAO") report states that the State Department believed the Cubans to be in a "rough mood" that week. ( ICAO report pg. 50 paragraph 2.2.2). It is interesting to note that given all of this information the U.S. State Department did not warn BTTR.

11:00 am

BTTR made its weekly plan to fly to the Bahamas and invited various non-BTTR members to participate as observers.

4:00 pm

The Bahamian government notifies BTTR that it is denied entry into the refugee camp due to a visiting delegation from Cuba. As a result, BTTR plans a standard search and rescue mission in the Florida Straits, responding to the news of new departures from the Island as it had done in 1800+ missions 'in the past.