U.S. Asks Cuba for Bombing Evidence
07:37 a.m. Jul 14, 1997 Eastern

U.S. Asks Cuba for Bombing Evidence

From Reuter. 14 July, 1997

WASHINGTON (Reuter) - The State Department Sunday asked the Cuban government to turn over any evidence it has that Americans were involved in bombing two Havana hotels this weekend.

Cuba's Interior Ministry blamed "people'' from the United States for Saturday's bombings, which injured three people and damaged the hotels' lobbies.

"We do not have any information linking U.S. persons to the bombing,'' a State Department official said.

"We have, however, officially asked the Cuban government to provide any information or evidence in its possession which may support its contention that U.S. persons or materials were involved in the bombing.''

The Cuban government said in a statement on Saturday it had evidence that "the people responsible for these deeds and also the materials they used came from the United States.''

The statement said the explosions that damaged the lobbies of the Hotel Nacional and the Hotel Capri within minutes of each other were caused by "explosive artifacts.''

Official suspicion would be likely to fall on hardline exile government opponents in Florida, some of whom have carried out violent protests in the past. In 1991, a Miami exile group claimed responsibility for a seaborne machinegun attack on a hotel at the beach resort of Varadero.