"STATE DEPT. FLATLY DENIES ANY U.S. INVOLVEMENT"

CASTRO BLAMES U.S. FOR 'CANNON BARRAGE' DAMAGING BUILDINGS IN WESTERN HAVANA

Havana, Cuba (JFK+50) On August 25, 1962, Cuba claimed a "cannon barrage" damaged several building in western Havana last evening.

Although Fidel Castro blames the United States for the attack, a group of Cuban exiles in Miami, Florida have claimed responsibility for firing more than 60 shots in 6 or 7 minutes.

The attack, according to Castro, was "staged from an area" 5/8 of a mile off the Havana suburb of Miramar*.

A State Department spokesman "flatly" denied any U.S. involvement in the incident.

JFK+50 NOTE

This incident marks the first attack on Cuba since the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion of April 1961.

*Miramar, located west of the Almendares River, was developed in the early 20th century by wealthy magnates & American businessmen.

SOURCE

"Havana Shelled by 'Enemy Ships'," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., August 25, 1962, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

 

 

 Avenida de las Americas

Photo by Happypepe 

2007

CC BY-SA 3.0

"I AM PROCEEDING TO HAVANA AT PISTOL POINT"

EASTERN AIRLINER HIJACKED, PILOT FORCED TO FLY TO CUBA

Miami, Florida (JFK+50) On July 24, 1961, Eastern Airlines* Flight 202, having taken off from Miami International Airport here in Florida, was hijacked and forced "at gunpoint" to fly to Havana, Cuba.

Captain W. E. Buchanan sent the following radio message...

"I am proceeding to Havana at pistol point."

The Eastern prop-jet Electra had 33 passengers and 5 crewmen aboard.  It departed Miami at 10:05 this morning and landed at Jose Marti Airport in Havana at 11:29.

A U.S. fighter jet flew alongside the hijacked airliner until it reached "a point three miles from Cuba."

JFK+50 NOTE

In the last two years, The Evening Star (7-24-61) reports, nine airplanes had been hijacked between Florida and Cuba.  Seven, however, were Cuban aircraft which were forced to land in Florida.  Previous to this incident, only one American airliner had been hijacked to Cuba. 

*Eastern Airlines (1926-1991) was headquartered in Miami, Florida & had a near monopoly on air travel between New York & Florida in the 1930s, 1940s & 1950s.

SOURCE

"Airliner Hijacked, Lands in Cuba," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., July 24, 1961, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/ 

 

 

Eastern Airlines Electra

Washington National Airport (1975)

Photo by Piergiuliano Chesi

CC SA 3.0