Sherry Sullivan, a
There’s a lot to this case that’s hard to figure out, not the least of which is the issue of evidence about the exact fate of the father, Geoffrey Sullivan, a pilot. (The judge’s decision doesn’t seem to be available on-line.) If you search for information about Geoffrey Sullivan, there’s no definitive account of his fate – something that his daughter, who has searched assiduously for years, is the first to admit.
This story quotes Ms. Sullivan’s lawsuit saying that her father and an associate, Alexander Rorke, “participated in various anti-Castro covert operations in
This 1993 court decision, which upheld the CIA’s rejection of an information request from Ms. Sullivan, said that she had “surmised that Rorke and her father were engaged in a CIA-sponsored mission to drop propaganda (or perhaps something more sinister) over
This report’s section on Americans “killed or missing in operations to monitor or counter the Castro regime” says that in April 1963, Rorke and Sullivan “had bombed an oil refinery in Havana, Cuba with homemade bombs, but the bombs had failed to explode.”
More information on the case is here and here.
One also wonders, for his daughter’s sake, why the U.S. government, after all these years, can’t answer her questions by saying whether her father was working for the CIA or another agency, and what it knows about his mission in October 1963, and his fate.
14 comments:
another fine example of american justice taking it out on cuba for no reason. cuba should start hundreds of court cases against cuban americans involved in terrorism; make it as ridiculous as amounts given by these idiots on the american courts.
meanwhile, US warns Libya not to celebrate return of airline bomber, its only OK to do that in Miami.
and then theses morons say American policies have no impact on cuba, 'the don't blame america cause we've done nothing' mentality. mental is for sure
Newspaper reports from 1963 state that the plane carrying Rorke and Sullivan took off from Cozumel giving its destination as Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Then it disappeared. Even if R&S lied to flight controllers about their destination, there was never any evidence that their plane headed for Cuba or that it was shot down or crashed over Cuba. The Maine judge's decision was based solely on rumors that Sullivan had been captured, and maybe executed, in Cuba. The judge interpreted Cuba's silence as confirmation of those rumors and imposed the $21M award. A defense lawyer for Cuba could have blown the lawsuit right out of the water, but Cuba apparently didn't want to fight rumors in court, which would have been a travesty of justice (lack of evidence, etc.) So, this case opens the floodgates for anyone who wishes to sue Cuba on the basis of any rumors of malfeasance. Plaintiffs, please line to the right...
/s/ Newspaperman.
Is there a statute of limitations on filing an appeal for cases like this? Does this type of judgment applies to any succesor to current Cuban government?
Vecino de NF
ok, numbskull anon, here we go again. You should be grateful I'm a patient person or else I'd start charging you for these lessons in US-Cuba policy 101.
Why would someone who supports the economic embargo of Cuba argue that US policy has had "no impact" on Cuba? How do argue in support of a policy and at the same time say it has had "no impact"?
Of course US policy has had an impact -- in driving up the costs to the regime as it continues to repress the Cuban people. Unfortunately, the regime continues to display its callous disregard for the Cuban people by forcing on them an ever lower standard of living just to maintain absolute power. Regime elites certainly aren't suffering, neither are fellow travelers who show up in Havana to lick every communist jackboot in sight.
Where the problem lies is when bootlickers like yourself use US policy as "justification" for beating up dissidents in the streets or throwing Cubans in jail because they wanted to open their homes as independent libraries.
If the regime is so strong as you and alienated cranks like leftside fantasize, then why is it so afraid of a few dissidents who dare to think outside the Party line? Why is it so afraid of someone offering a few selected books outside the control of the commissars for his neighbors to read?
The US chooses not to trade with the Castro regime. The US says the Cuban people should be free. The US sends dissidents pencils and paper and a few laptops. This “justifies” the beating of Cubans in the streets? NO.
And before you start sputtering about Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo and the other regime talking points since you regime stooges are too stupid to think for yourselves, NONE OF THAT "justifies" Cubans getting beaten up, jailed, or exiled for their beliefs or for standing up for their individual freedoms.
chingon
Only in America. Your family member drops bombs on a country and you get to take $21 million dollars from said country in compensation. Isn't the possibility of going MIA pretty much implied when you go around bombing places illegally?
Rorke was definately CIA. He was interviewed by the FBI about his activities with Frank Sturgis. Apparently, Rorke had the cojones to threaten the FBI with his newspaper contacts if they dared go after his operation.
Leftside,
The Spartacus post is contradictory on the actual flight path. Was it from Fort Lauderdale or from Cozumel that they departed before presumably being brought down in Cuba?
Vecino de NF
You like the details eh Vecino? I think if you read closely it says they took off from Ft Lauderdale and refueled in Cozumel...
Leftside,
I do, I do! My geography may be shaky but to get to Tegucigalpa from Cozumel there is no need to fly over Cuba, is there? On the other hand flying from Ft.Lauderdale to Cozumel one could use one of the air corridors that are used all the time, right?
Vecino de NF
chingon
and your response to the post regarding how US responded to Libya bomber as compared to the terrorists in Miami? Sorry, didn't find it. but that's normal when you can never get a straight answer from gusanos like you
the US says the Cuban people should be free? by starving them? man are you sick
Anonymous August 24, 2009 12:12 PM,
Can you please clarify the comment about the Cuban people starving? Leftside posted a few days ago very impressive UN statistics about how well fed Cubans were. Are the Cuban people starving or not? Also feel free to explain whether the Cuban people have the best health coverage or not? Because if the Cuban people are not starving or dying due to lack of medical care resulting from the US commercial embargo, then obviously the embargo has failed in its "genocidal" aims. (There is a widespread agreement that it has failed as a means to bring about political change in Cuba.)
Please enlighten us!
Vecino de NF
Anonymous August 24, 2009 12:12 PM,
Can you please clarify the comment about the Cuban people starving? Leftside posted a few days ago very impressive UN statistics about how well fed Cubans were. Are the Cuban people starving or not? Also feel free to explain whether the Cuban people have the best health coverage or not? Because if the Cuban people are not starving or dying due to lack of medical care resulting from the US commercial embargo, then obviously the embargo has failed in its "genocidal" aims. (There is a widespread agreement that it has failed as a means to bring about political change in Cuba.)
Please enlighten us!
Vecino de NF
when the policy is officially stated intent is to starve the people, whether successful or not, is the charge against genocide.
its the americans who state the aim was to starve the people. it hasn't succeeded because of govt efforts. but the policy has been in place for 50 years, with the only aim being to make the cuban people so miserable, so hungry that they will rise up and overthrown their govt -- that has been the accepted, stated aim of the US govt. do you agree with it?
I would agree that the embargo and other economic sanctions against Cuba were put in place to punish the Cuban government for its anti-US actions, and at one point to induce regime change in Havana. There is a certain tit-for-tat rationale in view that many US properties were expropiated in Cuba without compensation. Do you have any documentation that the US government stated aim was to starve the Cuban people? A memo, a letter, a message, a speech, etc?
Vecino de NF
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