Nation

6 Cubans guilty in skyjacking, face 20 years to life in prison

Six young Cubans who sought freedom by diverting a passenger plane from Havana to Key West, Fla., were convicted Thursday in Key West of air piracy, a federal offense that all but guarantees they'll have to wait at least two decades to be free. A jury of seven men and five women deliberated for six hours over two days in a politically charged case that was watched closely in Miami, Washington and Havana. It was the second Cuban skyjacking conviction this year in South Florida, an occurrence prosecutors said was rare, if not unprecedented. In July, Adermis Wilson Gonzalez, 34, was convicted of hijacking a plane using fake grenades. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry C. Wallace Jr. said the verdict "sends a clear message that while we are sympathetic to people who want to come to the United States, we will not tolerate the use of violence or the threat of violence." The wives of three of the hijackers wept softly in court, then broke down in sobs on the sidewalk outside the tiny Key West federal courthouse. They were among the 31 passengers aboard the aged DC-3 on March 19, and have opted to remain in the United States, as permitted. Brothers Alexis Norneilla Morales, 32, and Miakel Guerra-Morales, 26, and friend Neudis Infantes Hernandez, 31, were convicted of all counts: air piracy, interfering with a flight crew and two conspiracy charges. Jurors delivered split verdicts against their cousins Eduardo Javier Mejia Morales, 27, and Yainer Olivares Samon, 21, and another friend, Alvenis Arias-Izquierdo, 24. The cousins were acquitted of interfering with a flight crew, while Arias-Izquierdo, whose only role appears to have been to urge passengers to remain calm, was acquitted of everything but air piracy. The varying verdicts have little practical impact because air piracy carries a mandatory sentence of 20 years to life in federal prison. U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King will sentence the six men Feb. 26. Five of the defense attorneys left the courthouse without commenting after telling King they will appeal. A sixth lawyer, Mario Cano, said the mixed verdicts sent no clear signal of what jurors were thinking. Several jurors contacted by telephone declined comment. "I don't think it's a political verdict, although I have no doubt the Cuban government will ascribe some political feature to it," Cano said. "I think the Cuban government is ecstatic at this particular moment." Confessions by three of the hijackers were thrown out because FBI agents didn't give timely warnings of their rights to remain silent and obtain lawyers.