Alpha 66
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Alpha 66 is a paramilitary group funded by the US government, formed by Cuban exiles in Puerto Rico opposed to the Cuban government led by Fidel Castro. The group trained during the 1960s and 1970s in the Everglades for an eventual armed invasion of Cuba. The Cuban government, among others, has long considered the group to be a terrorist organization. [1] [2]
Though an invasion never materialized after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, the group continued its violent efforts against the Cuban government. In 1976 Miami Police Lieutenant Thomas Lyons and Detective Raul J. Diaz testified that groups including Alpha 66 had international terrorist ties and had sold $100 "bonds" in Miami to help finance their causes. The group were linked to a spate of bombings and assassinations in Miami during the 1970s, directed at moderate community leaders intolerant of the terrorist methods of certain anti-Castro groups. A week before Lyons and Diaz's testimony, broadcaster Emilio Milian had both his legs blown off in a car bomb outside his workplace.[1]
The current leader of this paramilitary group is Ferdinand de Montejo, who currently resides in Hollywood, Florida.
The group was featured in the 2003 film Bad Boys 2
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[edit] External links
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Terroristic Activity : Terrorism in the Miami Area. Miami public pages.
Bay of Pigs Invasion • Brothers to the Rescue • Cuban American • Cuban-American lobby • Cuban Five • Cuban Missile Crisis • Elián González • Guantanamo Bay Naval Base • Helms-Burton Act • List of Cuba-US aircraft hijackings • Luis Posada Carriles • Mariel boatlift • Opposition to Fidel Castro • Platt Amendment • Spanish-American War • United States embargo against Cuba • United States Interests Section in Havana • United States Ambassadors to Cuba •
