Omega 7
Omega 7 was a small Cuban paramilitary group based in Florida and New York made up of Cuban exiles whose stated goal was to overthrow Fidel Castro. The group had less than 20 members.FBI Info
Omega 7 formed in the early 1960s after John F. Kennedy abandoned overt United States support for the Cuban exiles in supposed fear of Soviet nuclear retaliation. Kennedy's decision to discontinue his support came at the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis in which Kennedy agreed with the USSR to not invade or attack Cuba, and restrain those who were planning to carry out attacks against Cuba, in exchange for the removal of nuclear weapons from Cuba. As a result, groups like Omega 7 emerged. Many of the Cuban exile community categorized Kennedy as an incompetent who quickly gave in to Soviet intimidation in believing the Soviets would attack the US. Kennedy was assassinated a year later (see John F Kennedy assassination).
Omega 7 is now said to be disbanded, with some of its leaders imprisoned in the United States. Omega 7 is considered a terrorist organization by the Cuban government. According to the FBI, its members are mostly Bay of Pigs veterans trained in demolition, intelligence, and commando techniques. Omega 7 operated internationally but is said to have carried out most of its attacks in the USA; these were mainly car bombings and direct assassinations, most of them done in a manner very difficult to trace.
These paramilitary groups have been accused of plotting and carrying out numerous assassinations of Cuban communist political leaders, spies, and supporters, as well as attacks on Cuban airliners, Cuban government-run hotels, embassies, and ships. During their most active years (1960s-80s) Omega 7, like other anti-Castro movements, were seen favorably by many Cubans in exile and anti-communists.
A more well-known brother group was Alpha 66 (still extant).
See also
- Opposition to Fidel Castro
- Cuban Five
- Cuba-United States relations
- Cuban Power
