Details Emerge About the Attempted Attack on Cuba

Some of the facts in the case are undeniable and corroborated by the family members of the attackers

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

Recent news of an attempted terrorist attack on Cuba highlights the long and sordid history of similarly failed attempts. Most recently, several groups have for years been publicly coordinating and planning terrorist attacks online. While there is a long history of similar incursions, the latest trend began to gain steam after the July 11, 2021, protests in Cuba, after social media influencers lamented that Cuban Americans didn’t organize an attack at that time. The thinking was that they should have exploited the protests to foment an uprising.

Speaking to the media, family members of those on board what has now been confirmed to be a stolen boat, say that the motivation in this case is similar. This time, however, they intended to exploit the suffering on the island after the Trump administration imposed an oil blockade. The brother of one of the people 4 killed, told the Associated Press that the group’s quest to overthrow the Cuban government was “obsessive and diabolical.”

As family members try to shift the narrative away from terrorism, portraying the group as heroic and “fighting for Cuba,” that’s becoming harder to do the more we learn. For example, at least one family member said two boats went out, each with about 10 people, according to Univision’s Javier Díaz on Facebook.

One of the men named by the Cuban government, Roberto Azcorra Consuegra, has apparently been misidentified after he was found to be in Miami. The list has since been corrected. When the local NBC affiliate in Miami caught up with him after an FBI agent visited his home, he revealed little. Asked if he was familiar with any of the people named by Cuba, Consuegra responded, “I can’t reveal that information for now.” When asked why he may have been named on the list, he said, “They know me. They know me well, they know it all.”

Initially, reports citing unnamed officials indicated that a flotilla was headed to Cuba to attempt an insurrection. Those reports were later disputed. However, Javier Diaz’s reporting again suggests a larger-scale operation. Diaz asserts that “those who went to Cuba are not terrorists, they were just training for several months and buying weapons to carry out this operation,” while not realizing that he described terrorist activity. He, and many others, are also overlooking the myriad violations of U.S. federal laws, in addition to international and Cuban laws. According to Diaz, the group spent months training on a Miami-area farm. He has yet to disclose its location.

Under the Neutrality Act, and since the U.S. is officially at peace with Cuba, the group faces a host of charges here in the United States. Those charges begin with simply plotting the attack.

“Whoever, within the United States, knowingly begins or sets on foot or provides or prepares a means for or furnishes the money for, or takes part in, any military or naval expedition or enterprise to be carried on from thence against the territory or dominion of any foreign prince or state, or of any colony, district, or people with whom the United States is at peace, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.”

Stealing a boat, crossing international boundaries, and smuggling weapons into a foreign country are also federal crimes in the U.S. That these groups have previously organized openly on social media via Facebook and YouTube, with many Cuban American influencers suggesting for years that they don’t have to worry about U.S. law enforcement, is concerning. The latest attack involves some of the same people who appear to have organized on TikTok.

Meanwhile, during remarks to the press on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded to a question about the boaters going to Cuba to “rescue” Cubans, as some have suggested, saying, “...yes, there have been people in the past that have run into Cuba to bring people and so on. It is illegal. It is a violation of federal law to go and run people back and forth.”

Since his remarks, the evidence continues to show that “rescuing” Cubans was not the agenda. Instead, the group was evidently motivated by violence. All the signs were pointing right at them.

Two of the people caught in the attack were previously named for organizing terrorist attacks against Cuba, Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez and Amijail Sánchez González. The latter often reposts old videos of sabotage and arson from the island, typically posted by KiKi Naranjo, another person named in my previous reporting.

Naranjo also confirmed the group’s motivations by telling NPR on Thursday that the group spent years recruiting to sabotage the Cuban government from within, a plan that seems to have failed, as they appear to have no apparent connections on the island, as noted by the only arrest to have taken place in Cuba. Duniel Hernández Santos was arrested after being sent to the island to “guarantee the reception of the armed infiltration, who at this time has confessed to his actions,” according to Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior.

It’s hard to imagine that these groups have gone undetected by federal law enforcement. The perpetrators and their social media communities regularly call for violence to overthrow the Cuban government. It’s also difficult to reason with the idea that the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy, which can track and bomb fishing boats and stop oil tankers, didn’t see a boat (or two) coming from Florida to Cuba. It would seem that Cuban American influencers may be correct in asserting that federal authorities are looking the other way.

The complete list of those involved in the incident is as follows:

• Pavel Alling Peña (deceased)

• Michael Ortega Casanova (deceased)

• Ledián Padrón Guevara (deceased)

• Héctor Duani Cruz Correa (deceased)

• Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara

• Conrado Galindo Sariol

• José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló

• Leodan Cruz Gomez

• Amijail Sánchez González

• Roberto Álvarez Ávila

*I reached out to the FBI for comment and have not received a response as of this writing.

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I’m an independent journalist digging deeper into the stories you see or don’t see on the news. Find my work at Unicorn Riot, The Antagonist Magazine, Latino Rebels, Orinoco Tribune, and more. I’m also on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber or making a donation via Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App.