Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515-0921
July 12, 1998
The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton
President of the United States of America
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
Your Administration, by way of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has instructed
the Brothers to the Rescue (BTR) humanitarian organization that it should comply with all
instructions that may be issued to BTR by Cuban fighter planes over international waters.
BTR plans to continue flying humanitarian and commemorative missions over international
waters, as its members are obviously entitled to as United Stares citizens. This Monday,
July 13, 1998, BTR is scheduled to fly a mission over international waters in memory of
the more than 40 men, women and children who were murdered by the Cuban terrorist regime
on July 13, 1994.
Your Administration's latest instruction to BTR is shocking and unconstitutional. It
raises serious questions regarding conspiracy with the Cuban dictatorship to commit
further acts of international terrorism and/or air piracy.
As Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States you are required to protect
United States citizens who are engaging in legal acts such as flying humanitarian or
commemorative missions over international waters. Instructing those U.S. citizens to
comply with orders issued by a foreign (terrorist) State constitutes a renouncement of
U.S. sovereignty in the constitutionally mandated defense by the United States of its
citizens.
On February 24, 1996, the United States stood by while three Americans and a U.S. legal
resident were murdered over international waters by the Cuban dictatorship. Further
signals to that dictatorship of U.S. weakness or acquiescence in its actions, such as your
Administration's latest instruction to BTR by way of the FAA, constitute encouragement for
additional acts of international terrorism by the Cuban regime.
In order to assure the safety of United States citizens you must make absolutely clear
that your Administration will take all necessary steps to protect our citizens and that
the U.S. will not cede the sovereignty of the defense of its citizens to terrorist States
Sincerely,
Lincoln Diaz-Balart
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
August: 3, 1998
Dear Representative Diaz-Balart:
I am writing in reply to your letter to the President regarding the pre-flight briefing
that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gave pilots flying in the Florida Straits
on July 13.
The briefing to the Brothers to the Rescue (BTTR) pilots was, I am assured, identical to
that provided on every such occasion since March 1996. The pilots consistently have
received the same briefing or confirmed knowledge of its contents. A record of the
exchange on that date shows no deviation from the standard briefing.
The instructions regarding how to respond to interception by military aircraft from Cuba
or the United States come from the Airmen's Informational Manual and the International
Flight Information Manual. These procedures apply to all civilian operating anywhere in
the world and are fully consistent with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
standards.
Please be assured that the Administration takes very seriously its responsibility to protect the aviation safety of U.S. citizens and residents.
Sincerely,
Samuel R. Berger
Assistant to the President
for National Security Affairs
The Honorable Lincoln Diaz-Balart
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515-0921,
August 10, 1998
For Immediate Release
Statement in Response to White House Letter
Brothers to the Rescue has received a letter from the White House, addressed to
Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), dated August 3, 1998, signed by Samuel R. Berger,
Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (the letter). We are issuing the
following statement regarding this letter:
Brothers to the Rescue is, and has always been, knowledgeable of the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO) procedures for military interception of civilian aircraft. On
February 24, 1996, the government of Cuba violated these procedures and shot down two BTTR
airplanes of US registry in international airspace, resulting in the murder of three US
citizens and a legal alien.
This murder followed several threats to down BTTR airplanes issued by Castro and other
members of the Cuban government, publicly and otherwise, of which the US government was
cognizant. The government of Cuba is a known terrorist state. In fact, Castro's own recent
admission of his activities in Latin America leaves no doubt on the subject.
Mr. Berger's letter to Congressman Diaz-Balart restates a falsehood: that after the
February 24, 1996 shootdown, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has consistently
briefed our pilots for flights in international airspace to comply with Cuban MiGs
interception instructions which may include to land in Cuba. This is the same lie issued
to the press by the FAA on July 10, 1998. It is important to note that the first time the
FAA issued such instructions to BTTR was in July of 1998 (not in written form). We made
the FAA's verbal instructions public, as well as our intention not to comply, since by
doing so we would provide Castro with the opportunity to shoot us over Cuban soil.
To our knowledge, the FAA has issued this type of instructions exclusively to BTTR.
BTTR considers the FAA's instructions to comply with orders issued by Cuban fighter planes
in international airspace, particularly after the shootdown of our airplanes, as a
deliberate means of informing our pilots that the Clinton Administration is willing to
serve as an accomplice to Cuba's terrorist regime.
An analysis of the culpability of members of the Clinton administration in the shootdown
of our airplanes on February 24, 1996 is beyond the scope of this statement. We will only
reaffirm at this point that the crime remains unresolved and unpunished.