The Miami News, October 8, 1968, "Dynamite Found Near Dante's Office" by The Miami News

Twenty-four sticks of dynamite, with detonation caps and primer cord, were found outside the Miami campaign headquarters of Rep. Dante Fascell yesterday but the explosives had not been rigged as a bomb.

Dick Nellius, press assistant to Fascell, a Democrat who is running for re-election, said the 50-pound box of dynamite was found in bushes outside a building at 2901 S. Bayshore Dr., where the Fascell forces have offices on the ground floor.

Nellius said the explosives were found by someone connected with Alliance Machinery Corp., which owns the building and has offices on the upper floor. The dynamite was removed by the Metro Bomb Squad.

Copyright (c) 1968 The Miami News

The Miami News, September 24, 1968, "Dante Urges U.S. Act in Exile Bombings" by Ian Glass

Congressman Dante Fascell today urged U.S. Attorney General [Ramsey] Clark to order an investigation of Cuban terrorist bomber groups here "and bring these criminals to justice."

[...]

Fascell's telegram said: "Recent terrorist activities in Miami and other parts of our nation perpetrated by a small group of Cuban extremists are endangering Cuban and American lives and property.

"The vast majority of Cuban exiles have proven to be exemplary guests in our nation. However, this militant minority is violating not only our local laws with attacks on foreign ships and bombing of grocery stores, but also is violating a host of federal laws.

"For those reasons, I seriously urge a prompt and thorough investigation by the FBI, immigration authorities and other federal agencies to bring these criminals to justice.

"While I fully support the legitimate effort of the Cuban exiles to free their homeland, we cannot allow a terrorist minority to jeopardize lives and blatantly violate our laws in the name of patriotism."

[...]

Copyright (c) 1968 The Miami News

The Miami News, September 23, 1968, "One Bomb Is One Too Many," Editorial by The Miami News

We think Cuban exiles can find better ways to settle differences than by blowing up buildings or firing rifles at foreign ships.

And we find it difficult to believe that law enforcement agencies can't find the culprits responsible for some 38 bombings in Dade County since Jan. 1.

More reasonable members of the Cuban community deplore the lawless attacks, many of which are perpetrated by a Cuban Power group, or exiles who claim to be banded together to forcefully demonstrate their displeasure with local affairs.

Miami is overrun with agents of the U.S. government, representing the CIA and the FBI. These are in addition to the local police forces and it seems most unusual that only a handful of suspects have been turned up in recent explosions. (None of these have been accused of bombings, but rather are charged with illegal possession of explosives.)

We're not experts in making bombs, but it is rather common knowledge that the explosive material used in many of the bombings is made exclusively for the U.S. military. It would seem that the CIA, FBI and the military intelligence agencies, with their vast resources, could at least plug the leak in the explosives, and maybe even discover who is using them for these non-military purposes.

Copyright (c) 1968 The Miami News

The Miami News, September 23, 1968, "Cuban Exiles Living with 'Reign of Terror'" by Terry Johnson King

[...]

Miami's Cubans are living with a reign of terror that, so far, has been largely confined to their own neighborhoods and businesses. Almost daily now, incidents are reported locally as anti-Castro factions drown their sorrows and vent their frustrations in dynamite and C-4 plastic explosives.

It has been an escalating war. It started with smoke bombs and tear gas being tossed into festive gatherings among Cubans, set off by malcontents who said the exiles had no business having parties while their country was in the hands of Communists.

From there it grew. Dynamite was tossed into stores that sent drugs to Cuba - they were "trading with the enemy" when they sent badly-needed supplies of penicilin and antibiotics to the aged and infirm in that country.

Then it was C-4 plastic bombs - a sophisticated weapon, and too sophisticated, it turned out, for the clumsy terrorists. It was a long time before they could figure out how to make the things go off.

And finally into such advanced warfare as sniping of a Polish ship in Miami's harbor last week; and the increase in bombings of commercial establishments which do not "cooperate" with the terrorists.

Miami Police Chief Walter Headley says much of the bombing is done for extortion. Merchants are asked to contribute to the counter-revolutionary causes. If they don't, they quickly learn the consequences. Cuban sources say extortion has nothing to do with it - it is simply a "philosophical' method of keeping the community in line, supposedly so it can fight the tyranny of Castro.

[...]

Also fanning the flames of near civil war that brews in Cuban neighborhoods are the extreme right-wing exile publications. Chief of these is a newspaper, "Patria," which is commonly supposed to exist on money from Batista.

In addition there are bulletins, magazines, other papers, newsletters - published here, in California, New York and Mexico - which deify the terroristic strikes against non-cooperators, either here or elsewhere.

[...]

Copyright (c) 1968 The Miami News

Evening Independent, September 20, 1968, "Cuban Power Names Head" by The Associated Press

MIAMI - A blackhooded figure identified as "Ernesto," mastermind of the mysterious exile terrorist band, Cuban Power, announced the appointment today of anti-Castro militant Orlando Bosch as the group's spokesman.

The announcement was made at a midnight news conference to which reporters were taken blindfolded. They were driven around aimlessly through streets for 30 minutes before being led into a room where the hooded "Ernesto" sat. After the session, newsmen were blindfolded again and driven away.

Ernesto said Cuban Power has been bombing ships and planes of countries dealing with Cuba but disclaimed any part in an epidemic of explosions in Miami, New York, Los Angeles and other cities.

Ernesto told his news conference that he would now "go to some country in this hemisphere to fulfill a certain mission."

Bosch is the leader of a group called the [Insurrectional Movement of Revolutionary Recovery] - MIRR. He has a long record of U.S. arrests for anti-Communist activity, but no convictions.

Copyright (c) 1968 The Associated Press

St. Petersburg Times, September 17, 1968, "A Little Cannon Blast Dents Docked Freighter" by Times Wire Services

MIAMI - A freighter from Poland was shelled by a small cannon while docked in Miami yesterday and the leader of a secret terrorist group, Cuban Power, promptly claimed responsibility.

The Coast Guard said the hull of the 407-foot freighter, Polanica, was hit about seven feet above the waterline by a missile that caused a dent the size of a pie plate. Nobody was hurt.

Several hours after the shelling, a telephone caller who said he was the mysterious "Ernesto" of Cuban Power, said his group had fired the shell "as the only response from freedom loving people to the atrocious invasion of Czechoslovakia by the imperialist Communists."

"I've just arrived from Mexico and I personally fired the shot," the caller told a Spanish-language radio station in Miami (WFAB).

In another mysterious phone call, "Cuban Power" claimed the weapon employed was a 57-millimeter recoilless rifle.

[...]

Copyright (c) 1968 St. Petersburg Times

[More from The Miami News]

The Miami News, August 9, 1968, "Cuba Group Claims Bombing of British Cargo Ship"

A British cargo ship here was blasted by an explosion yesterday afternoon, and Cuban exiles immediately took credit for the incident. The 210-foot Caribbean Venture, out of Newcastle, England, was tied to Pier 3 at the time.

Miami Fire Chief Henry Christen said the blast which injured none of the crew - may have been caused by a plastics explosive called C-4.

Later, a spokesman for the Cuban exile organization that calls itself "Cuban Power" phones news media and claimed it had mined the ship. The mine, he said, was supposed to go off ofter the ship had gone to sea, but exploded prematurely.

The blast ripped a hole in the hull causing the ship to take on water and settle six feet, but the Coast Guard said there was no danger of its sinking.

Cuban exiles here are bitter at Britain's continued trading with Fidel Castro's government.

Copyright (c) 1968 The Miami News