Cuban Exiles Blame Castro
for Bombing Death

By Angus MacSwan

MIAMI, Sept 4 (Reuter) - Cuban exile groups said they regretted the death of an Italian tourist in an explosion in Havana on Thursday but said action to bring down President Fidel Castro was justified.

A prominent exile who favors dialogue with the communist government, however, denounced the actions as terrorism. He hoped the Cuban government would respond with some step toward political liberalization before the situation grew worse.

Explosions believed to have been caused by bombs shook the lobbies of three seaside hotels in the Cuban capital on Thursday.

They were the latest in a series of blasts on the island that have generated intense speculation in Miami, where most exiles eagerly greet any sign that Castro's downfall is imminent.

The death of the Italian man was the first fatality in the spate of attacks, for which no one has claimed responsibilty.

The Cuban American National Foundation (CANF), the most powerful Cuban-exile political organization, said the incidents showed domestic opposition was growing toward Castro, the unrepentant 71-year-old revolutionary who has ruled Cuba since ousting the dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959.

Spokeswoman Ninoska Perez said that despite the death, the CANF stood by its statement last month that it supported any means to oust Castro.

``We greatly regret the loss of life, but the Cuban people have the right to fight for their freedom,'' she said.

She said the Castro government wanted to blame the bombings on the Miami exiles in order to deflect attention from internal dissent and the failings of the Cuban security forces.

The bombings ``are obviously a message being sent to tourists, as tourism is the main source of income for the dictatorship,'' she said.

Since the collapse of its main sponsor the Soviet Union, Cuba has welcomed flocks of tourist, mostly from Europe and Canada, to help bring in money.

A leader of Alpha 66, a Miami-based paramilitary group, said his organization was not directly involved in the bombings but it backed any efforts to get rid of Castro.

``These are the actions of people who want to end tyranny. We are sorry for the death, but Fidel Castro is to blame,'' Alpha 66 secretary general Andres Nacario Sargen said.

Alpha 66, whose ranks include veterans of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961 and young Cuban-Americans, trains regularly in the Florida Everglades. Under U.S. law, he is barred from undertaking any military action against Cuba despite Washington's hostile relationship with Havana.

Ramon Cernuda, Miami-based co-ordinator for four human rights groups in Cuba, denounced the blast as terrorism and said the situation could get worse.

``The situation is becoming very complex because of the frustrations of people who do not agree with official government policy,'' he said. ``They have evidently resorted to violence because of the lack of political discourse.''

The Castro government had reacted in the past to pressure, including from economic and religious sectors, by easing restrictions, Cernuda said.

01:20 09-05-97