Cuba: Blast at church caused by fireworks

HAVANA -- (AP) -- A small explosion in front of a church in Old Havana that set off fears of violence weeks before a papal visit was just some fireworks set off by a tourist celebrating the holidays, the government said Monday.

The Interior Ministry said in a press release that Alejandro Rivera Jimenez, 48, of Mexico, set off the small rocket in the street outside La Merced church at 3:15 a.m. Saturday and it accidentally struck the side of the building.

The four-inch device caused no injuries or damage to the towering 18th Century Roman Catholic church dedicated to Our Lady of Mercy.

The explosion woke up neighbors and uniformed police rushed to the scene to investigate. The incident alarmed some church officials, who are preparing for the Jan. 21-25 visit of Pope John Paul II.

The Cuban government has promised heavy security for the papal visit, especially following a string of hotel bombings that the Cuban government blamed on U.S.-based exile groups.

Rivera and Cuban Rafael Gonzalez Fajardo, 21, later came forward to tell police what happened. Rivera had been renting a room at Gonzalez's home near the church and were together when the small rocket struck the building, the government said in its statement.

It said the men had purchased three of the small rockets in Villa Clara province to use for their New Year's Eve celebrations. Such devices are common during holiday celebrations in some parts of Cuba.

Neighbors told authorities they had seen the men in the street in the early hours of Saturday and that both appeared to have been drunk.

Although the Interior Ministry said there appeared to be no political or anti-religious motives on the part of the men, it said both will be tried for violating laws protecting neighbors and institutions from dangerous behavior.

It was unclear whether the men were taken into custody.