US Lets Cuban Terror Slide in Florida

At least five anti-Castro paramilitary groups are operating on US soil, planning to overthrow the Cuban regime—and getting a free ride from Washington despite bolstered anti-terrorist laws that would back a crackdown. Holed up in Florida training camps, the Cuban exiles have been linked to commando raids, hotel bombings, and even downed airliners, Salon reports.

Aside from an occasional weapons charge, the US stays hands-off with the groups, which one former aide to Colin Powell called “Hezbollah in Florida.” Salon runs down a list of the militant community’s worst offenders—including one suspected of 73 murders—and notes a political link between the Sunshine State’s Cubans and two Bush's, one the US president, the other a governor who helped stop the deportation of a key militant. (More Fidel Castro stories.)