Last Updated: Wednesday, 21 April, 2004, 23:47 GMT 00:47 UK
US court sentences Cuba hijackers
The ageing plane landed at Key West
A US court has sentenced six Cuban men to prison terms of 20 years or more following their convictions for hijacking a plane from Cuba to the US.
Two received sentences of 24 years while the others were given 20 years.
The six - some armed with knives - took control of the 1940s DC-3 plane as it headed from Cuba's Isle of Youth to the capital, Havana, last year.
The flight was intercepted as it entered US airspace and was forced to land at Key West airport in Florida.
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"If you engage in violence to enter the United States you will be prosecuted and held accountable for your actions," the US attorney for the southern district of Florida, Marcos Daniel Jimenez, said in a statement quoted by Reuters news agency.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3648301.stm