Cuba Invasion Plot Charges Are Dropped

Federal authorities have dropped charges against three men who were accused of plotting to invade Cuba from a Huntington Park kitchen supply store.

Cuban immigrants Rene Cruz Sr., 68, his son Rene Cruz Jr., 47, and Rafael Garcia, 45, had been celebrated as patriots by many Cuban Americans since their December arrest, when FBI agents seized assault rifles and other military equipment at the Florence Avenue store.

The federal Speedy Trial Act deadline to indict the men passed Wednesday. Assistant U.S. Atty. Dan Levin said the case remains under investigation although prosecutors dismissed the federal complaint against the three Friday.

The men had been charged with violating federal conspiracy laws and the Neutrality Act, which forbids military action against nations with which the United States is not at war.

In addition to the weapons and maps seized in Huntington Park, FBI agents learned that the men had bought a 60-foot shrimp boat in Mississippi capable of transporting 30 people to Cuba.

Many Cuban Americans who revile Cuban President Fidel Castro viewed the Cruzes and Garcia as political prisoners. Nearly $500,000 was raised within weeks for their legal defense, and more than 100 local Cuban Americans crowded the downtown Los Angeles federal courthouse when the men faced bond hearings two weeks ago.

In a telephone interview Wednesday, Rene Cruz Jr. said the men had no specific plans to invade Cuba, but considered using the AK-47-type assault rifles and other equipment that authorities found for military training exercises.

“We had a dream, but these arms weren’t for any immediate action,” he said. “There was no conspiracy.”

Cruz said he and his father bought the boat in Mississippi because they were thinking of starting a commercial fishing business.

Although local Cuban Americans had harshly criticized the government for arresting the men, Cruz said the dismissal of the complaint “reinforces my belief that the system works. The light of the law has shone through the clouds. I dream that one day Cubans will enjoy the democracy and human rights we live with here.”