José Antonio Llama

José Antonio Llama (born 1941) is a former director on the executive board of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF).[1][2][3][4] Llama also participated in the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-backed Bay of Pigs Invasion.[3][5]

Paramilitary organization and foundation

According to Llama, the paramilitary role of CANF was established in June 1992 during an annual congress meeting in Naples, Florida. The proposal started when a member recommended "doing more than lobbying in Washington" to overthrow the Cuban Communist government of Fidel Castro. Jorge Mas Canosa and José "Pepe" Hernandez were selected as leaders to choose the group for armed operations. Llama maintained that the foundations' general board of directors, including Jorge Mas Santos, the board chairman at the time were unaware of this. After the group was established in 1992, they planned extensively the following year. During the 1993 meeting in Puerto Rico, José "Pepe" Hernandez was selected as the group's leader due to his "known record as a fighter in the 2506 Brigade and the Marines".[3][4][5]

Arrest, indictment, and acquittal

On October 27, 1997, off the coast of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, four men were captured by a United States Coast Guard Cutter. The yacht, La Esperanza (English: The Hope), was discovered to be hiding a cache of weapons and military grade intelligence gear, including: two .50 caliber sniper rifles, GPS equipment, lightweight radios, night-vision goggles, and 12 rounds for a .357 pistol.[2][3][5][6][7] The weapons were stowed under a compartment built into the stairs leading to the cabins, which was hidden by a throw rug. The yacht was registered to a Florida company, Nautical Sports, Inc., whose chief executive officer, director, secretary, and treasurer was Llama.[3] On August 25, 1998, the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) announced it had indicted Llama with conspiracy to murder Cuban leader, Fidel Castro. The USDOJ believed the men were attempting to assassinate Castro when he was in Isla Margarita, Venezuela for the Ibero-American Summit.[1][3][4][5][6][7]

A jury acquitted them on December 8, 1999, after a federal judge threw out one of the defendants’ self-incriminating statements. The admission was by Angel Alfonso Aleman, who stated upon the ship's boarding by Customs officials: "They are weapons for the purpose of assassinating Fidel Castro."[4] The Cuban ambassador to the United Nations declared the trial was "rigged" in an open statement before the United Nations regarding Cuba's anti-terrorism efforts.[3][6]

Admission and lawsuit

In a 2006 interview with El Nuevo Herald, Llama talked about a plot to kill Castro and mentioned other members of CANF who assisted in securing items, funding, and participating in the scheme. Llama stated he was coming forward because CANF had swindled US$1.4 million (roughly $2.3 million in 2019) from him between 1994 and 1997 to plan the failed operation; he considered a lawsuit to recoup his money. The admission revealed a larger list of items acquired for carrying out the task of assassination: a cargo helicopter, ten ultralight radio-controlled planes, seven vessels, and explosives. One of those vessels was the Midnight Express fast boat, meant to take the CANF leader at the time, Jorge Mas Canosa to Cuba if a power struggle erupted or the missions were completed. Another of those vessels was "La Esperanza" which was confiscated by the United States Department of the Treasury following the indictments.[3][4][6]

Llama stated in 2006 that he was writing an autobiography titled: De la Fundación a la fundición: historia de una gran estafa (From the Foundation to Meltdown: Story of a Big Swindle).[4]

See also

References
  1. "Cuba's Repressive Machinery: XII. International Policy". Human Rights Watch. 1999.
  2. "Castro assassination charges". BBC. August 25, 1998.
  3. Jean Guy Allard & Gabriel Molina (June 28, 2006). "Scams and scandals among Miami terrorists". Granma International.
  4. Wilfredo Cancio Isla (June 25, 2006). "Former CANF Board member admits to planning terrorist attack against Cuba". El Nuevo Herald.
  5. Ann Louise Bardach & Larry Rother (May 5, 1998). "Plot On Castro Spotlights A Powerful Group". New York Times.
  6. Ambassador Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla (November 6, 2001). "Measures to eliminate international terrorism". United Nations General Assembly Security Council.
  7. "Seven Cuban-Americans Charged With Conspiracy to Murder Fidel Castro". United States Department of Justice. August 25, 1998.
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