Cuba Asks Return of Defector’s Son
The Cuban government is demanding the return of the 15-year-son of the general who defected last week by flying his family to Key West in a small plane. Cuban officials said the boy was kidnaped.
Cuban Foreign Ministry official Luis Garcia Veraz has given an extradition demand for young Rafael del Pino Lopez to the acting chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, said a Havana radio broadcast monitored here.
Cuban Brig. Gen. Rafael del Pino Diaz flew a twin-engine Cessna from his homeland to the Key West Naval Air Station last Thursday and asked for asylum. Arriving with Del Pino were his wife, Laura, their 2-year-old daughter and his two sons from a previous marriage.
However, Del Pino’s ex-wife in Cuba, Carmen Lopez Maldonado, asked that her younger son be returned; the older son is in his 20s.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
