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FBI Arrests 3 Suspects in Plot to Invade Cuba : Search: More than two truckloads of military-style weapons and equipment is seized in raid at Huntington Park business.

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SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Three men suspected of plotting to invade Cuba were arrested and a stockpile of assault rifles and other military equipment was seized from a Huntington Park business, the FBI announced Monday.

In a Saturday raid, federal agents removed more than two truckloads of weapons and equipment, including AK-47-style assault rifles, body armor and radio equipment from the warehouse and office of Renmarc International, a dealer in heavy industrial equipment, at 2934 Florence Ave.

Federal agents also learned of the purchase by the alleged conspirators of a 50-foot shrimp boat in Mississippi that can carry up to 30 people.

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Rene Cruz Sr., 68, the owner of the business, and his son, Rene Cruz Jr., 47, both of Huntington Park, were arrested after the search Saturday along with Sun Valley resident Rafael Garcia, 45.

FBI officials said the men belong to a paramilitary group called Commandos Unidos, which opposes the rule of Cuban President Fidel Castro. The men, who are Cuban-born, were charged with conspiracy and expedition against friendly nations, federal offenses that carry maximum sentences of three and five years, respectively.

Garcia is being held without bail until trial, and the Cruzes face a bond hearing Wednesday.

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Charles Parsons, who heads the FBI’s Los Angeles office, said the bureau is looking for others involved in the alleged plot but would not comment on the size or location of the headquarters of the Commandos Unidos.

At Garcia’s bond hearing Monday, Assistant U.S. Atty. Dan Levin said that Garcia is “part of a conspiracy” and that “it’s clear the group has access to substantial funds and co-conspirators are still at large.”

In addition to the weapons and equipment, which FBI agents believe were bought legally in the United States, the search Saturday turned up documents outlining the invasion strategy.

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According to court documents, agents found Spanish-language plans that said the invaders would leave from the United States, capture additional weapons after landing in Cuba and provoke an armed uprising by Cubans in three cities: Artemisa, Consolacion and San Juan y Martinez.

Two Global Positioning Satellite units, sophisticated navigational tools, also were found in the warehouse, along with scuba gear, a videotape of the Cuban shoreline, four self-inflating rubber rafts with motors and a Cuban flag.

The plotters reportedly hoped to install a provisional government and enlist freed political prisoners as soldiers. The documents found by agents said the group would depend on Cuban exiles in the United States for manpower and financial backing.

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