Anti-Cuba Terrorist in Miami: "Don't Expect Peaceful Transition in Cuba"

ALONG THE MALECON: Paramilitary chief: Don't expect peaceful transit
Posted by: "Walter Lippmann" walterlx@earthlink.net walterlx
Thu May 14, 2009 2:20 pm (PDT)


Paramilitary chief: Don't expect peaceful transition in Cuba

http://alongthemalecon.blogspot.com/2009/05/
paramilitary-chief-only-force-will-end.html

Leader of Comandos F-4: Claims his group has "clandestine cells" in
Cuba

Rodolfo Frometa has dedicated his life to a single task: Getting rid
of Fidel Castro. His office is along West Flagler Street in Miami,
one of the only cities in the world where unsuspecting visitors
sometimes stumble across storefront shops aimed at toppling foreign
governments.

Frometa, 62, predicts the Cuban government will fall within five
years, socialism will disappear and free elections will be held. And
he said he is doing all he can to help make it happen.

He is the commander-in-chief of a controversial paramilitary group
called Comandos F-4.

"At no point should the president of the United States negotiate with
Cuba," he told me in an interview. "The U.S. government should not
lift the trade embargo unless Cuba releases all political prisoners."

Frometa is passionate about political prisoners, having been one
himself in Cuba.

At 14, he supported the Cuban revolution. "I was a campesino like any
other," he said.

But he said he soon grew disillusioned with the revolution because
"it seemed like it turned people into slaves."

So he fought against the socialist government and was jailed.

From the wall in Frometa's Miami office. Prisoners in Cuba. The arrow
points to Frometa.

After his release, Frometa journeyed to the United States. He's been
trying to undermine the socialist government ever since.

"There won't be a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba," he said.
"The system has to be removed by force."

In another photo from Frometa's office, the paramilitary leader poses
with U.S. Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart, a Florida Republican who opposes
the socialist government

Frometa claims that "65 percent of the armed forces" in Cuba secretly
support his group. And he says his group's "clandestine cells" have
quietly posted "hundreds" of Comandos F-4 stickers and banners
throughout Cuba, Frometa said.

Some of the stickers read, "Down with the tyranny." And they're
posted at bus stops and other locations, he said.

"Police take down one and two or more appear."

Cuban officials dispute that Comandos F-4 has any support in Cuba and
say Frometa pretends to have a secret clandestine network so he can
raise more money for his cause.

Even so, Cuban officials say they take such groups seriously because
they are capable of staging attacks against their country.

More from Frometa's office: Photos of anti-Castro activists

Frometa said Comandos F-4 is "preparing the conditions" to attempt
simultaneous strikes against the Cuban government in three to four
provinces in Cuba this year. He declines to elaborate, citing
"military secrets."

Some Cuban officials say they wonder why U.S. authorities don't do
something about Comandos F-4 and other paramilitary groups.

Frometa said he's doing nothing illegal. Prospective members of
Comandos F-4 must sign an agreement saying they'll obey state and
federal laws before they can join the group, he said.

Guns and more guns. Comandos F-4 chief speaks of "simultaneous
strikes" against Cuban government

Frometa has gotten into trouble before. Before joining Comandos F-4,
he was a member of Alpha 66, another anti-Castro group. Records show:

* On Oct. 19, 1993, authorities questioned Frometa about a boat
carrying seven semi-automatic Chinese AK assault rifles and one Ruger
semi-automatic mini 14 rifle, equipped with a scope.

* On Oct. 23, 1993, authorities found Frometa and other Alpha 66
activists with an R15 rifle, an AK-47 and a .50-caliber machine gun.
The militants were towing a boat to the Florida Keys. Frometa said
they needed the weapons for "a military training exercise....once the
officers determined that their activities were legal, they were sent
on their way," according to this court document.

* On June 2, 1994, authorities arrested Frometa, now a member of
Comandos F-4, after he tried to buy C4 explosives and a "Stinger
antiaircraft missile" from an undercover FBI agent. His goal: To kill
Castro and members of his inner circle.

Frometa was convicted on federal charges and sentenced to 3 1/2 years
in prison.

After he was freed, he returned to a familiar task - trying to push
the Castro brothers from power.

I shot this photo of Frometa while on assignment for the Dallas
Morning News

Frometa contends that little has changed in Cuba, even though Fidel
Castro is no longer president.

"Raul Castro isn't going to yield on anything," he said. "You can't
negotiate with him."

A last photo from Frometa's wall

Paramilitary chief: Don't expect peaceful transition in Cuba
http://alongthemalecon.blogspot.com/2009/05/paramilitary-chief-only-force-will-end.html

---

Thanks for posting this.

Looks as if they're taking him with a grain of salt there. Good!

I've heard of his boasts, bragging for years concerning his group's ability to get into Cuba, kill people, then get out before being detected. They claim to have nailed an associate of the Cuban Five's who had returned to Cuba.

Here's a New York Times article on his botched attempt to buy a Stinger:

U.S. Says Cuban Exiles Sought Missile
By LARRY ROHTER,
Published: Saturday, June 4, 1994

Two leaders of a paramilitary group of Cuban exiles have been arrested here on charges that they sought to buy a Stinger missile and other advanced weapons from an undercover Federal agent posing as a corrupt Army sergeant.

The men, Rodolfo Frometa and Fausto Marimon, are prominent members of a recently formed group, Comandos F-4, that Federal investigators said had wanted the weapons for an attack on Cuba. The men were formally charged with dealing in explosive materials without a license when they appeared today before Magistrate Judge Linnea Johnson at the Federal Courthouse here.

The men were arrested on Thursday, Federal officials said, after giving the undercover agent $5,000 as a down payment on an order of missiles, anti-armor rockets, grenade launchers and explosives.

The weapons purchase described in the Federal complaint against the men is one of several recent signs Cuban exile paramilitary groups in the Miami area are growing restive. Final Stage

Cuba's Communist government has shown increasing signs of economic and political weakness since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and exile groups have been busy recruiting new members and financial backers to help them in what they see as the final stage of their 35-year battle to topple Fidel Castro.

But the Clinton Administration, wary of action that could increase tensions with Cuba or even draw the United States into a conflict, has repeatedly sought to dampen the enthusiasm of exile groups by warning them of possible violations of American neutrality and weapons laws.

In announcing the arrest of the Comandos F-4 leaders, the United States Attorney, Kendall Coffey, once again stressed that theme. "The enforcement of Federal laws that prohibit the unlicensed trafficking in dangerous weapons is a high priority," he said. "This is a case about rockets and missiles, weapons which must be strictly controlled." Fracture in Exile Group

Mr. Frometa, 49, was until recently chief of operations of Alpha 66, an established paramilitary group that has in the past taken credit for several military operations against Cuba. Friends said Mr. Frometa joined Alpa 66 nearly 25 years ago and spent 10 years in a Cuban prison on charges of fomenting rebellion; the friends said he was released and returned to the United States in 1991.

But earlier this spring, as paramilitary groups debated how aggressive to be toward Cuba, Mr. Frometa and several other members of Alpha 66 split from the group and announced they had formed Comandos F-4.

Frady Laguna, who described himself as the new group's second in command, said in an interview today that Comandos F-4 has about 30 members in Miami but also has "trained people in Cuba and in other countries," whose numbers he declined to discuss.

According to an affidavit filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in connection with the case, Mr. Frometa and Mr. Marimon met last month with the undercover agent "posing as a U.S. Army supply sergeant selling stolen military equipment." The agent showed the men M-16 rifles and photographs of other weapons that he said were also available, the affidavit said, and the Comandos F-4 leaders then agreed to pay $15,000 for an assortment of missiles and rockets. Delivery and Arrest

The affidavit said Mr. Frometa and Mr. Marimon had "also agreed to purchase more weapons in the future" in order to "launch military operations directed against Cuba." The undercover agent met with the men again at a Miami warehouse on Thursday to deliver the order, and when they began to load the weapons into their vehicle, Mr. Frometa and Mr. Marimon were arrested.

A lawyer who represents Comandos F-4, Luis Fernandez, did not respond to telephone calls seeking comment. But Mr. Laguna denied that members of the group, whom he described as Cuban patriots, had ever engaged in any wrongdoing.

"We respect the laws of this country," he said. "Everything we do is legal and open. Our office doors are always open to anyone, and we do not hide the fact that we hold training sessions for our members."

Mr. Laguna also said he thought it unfair and misguided that "security agents of this country are dedicated to persecuting us, men who are fighting for liberty" when "there are so many criminals on the street and so much drugs being trafficked." He described the arrests of Mr. Frometa and Mr. Marimon as "a trick, whose motive we do not know, but if the motive is to destroy our movement, it will not be successful." Weapons Aboard Boat

Earlier this year, Mr. Frometa and Mr. Marimon were among seven Cuban exiles taken into custody after Coast Guard officials boarded an 18-foot boat foundering off Key Biscayne and found a cache of weapons, ammunition and money. In a search of the vessel, Customs agents seized about 50 weapons, including assault weapons, shotguns and pistols, and about 25,000 rounds of ammunition.

But Mr. Coffey, the Federal prosecutor, did not file charges against the men, all of whom were then members of Alpha 66. Mr. Coffey said today that the decision was made after "it was determined there was not a provable violation of Federal law."

In Mr. Frometa's public comments at the time, he never denied that the purpose of the mission was military. "We were going to infiltrate a command in Cuba," he told The Miami Herald. "We went to Cuba to make contact. We couldn't make contact so we brought our people and the arms back here."

Photo: Federal authorities in Miami yesterday charged Rodolfo Frometa, above, and another leader of a Cuban exile paramilitary group with trying to buy a Stinger antiaircraft missile and other weapons to use to attack Cuba. Mr. Frometa spoke to reporters in Miami last month. (Associated Press)

A version of this article appeared in print on Saturday, June 4, 1994, on section 1 page 9 of the New York edition.

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/04/us/us-says-cuban-exiles-sought-missile.html

http://4.bp.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8090/_6h1ZGA7qUn4/RrEmJV1zi6I/AAAAAAAAAIw/UA7-wJwVUNE/s400/Cienfuegos.jpg http://www.ratb.org.uk.nyud.net:8090/gallery/camilocienfuegos/camilo-cienfuegos.jpg http://latinamericanmusings.files.wordpress.com.nyud.net:8090/2009/02/camilo-cienfuegos.jpg

Camilo Cienfuegos

http://fbuch.com.nyud.net:8090/images/korda_che.jpg

http://static.open.salon.com.nyud.net:8090/files/che_cigar1238170598.jpg

Che Guevara

http://www.voltairenet.org.nyud.net:8090/IMG/jpg/es-rodolfo-frometa-220.jpg http://cubainforma.interfree.it.nyud.net:8090/venezuela/contraf4.jpg

Rodolfo Frómeta

The Obama admin's requirement for further US/Cuba negotiations is that Cuba must 1)- lower taxes, 2)- release prisoners who were paid by, aided and abetted, terrorists, 3)- completely overhaul there democratic parliamentary system.

Meanwhile... US based terrorist organizations running operations against Cuba from Miami go untouched (if not funded by US tax dollars), and millions of our tax dollars are being used to fund anti Cuba initiatives and operations, funding (and funneling funding from Miami based terrorists to) so called "dissidents" in Cuba. Not to mention the many dozens of millions of US taxpayer dollars wasted on Radio & TV Marti every year.

Whacked, I tell ya... just whacked. :crazy:

Absolutely abhorrent. Unforgiveable.