INSPECTOR GENERAL
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
400 ARMY NAVY DRIVE
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA 22202DEC 28, 1998
Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515-0921
Dear Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen:
This is in response to an August 31, 1998, letter to the Attorney General of the United States, signed jointly by you and Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, requesting answers to several questions posed by Mr. Jose Basulto regarding the shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue aircraft by the Cuban military. The Department of Justice forwarded a copy of your letter to this office for additional response because many of Mr. Basulto's questions (all but questions 9, 11, and 12) refer to the actions of the Department of Defense (DoD) elements in connection with the shootdown incident.This office has conducted an exhaustive review of the shootdown incident and has issued two reports: Report Number PO 97-011, "The DoD Response to the Brothers to the Rescue Incident - Phase I," March 28, 1997; and Report Number IR 98-609, "The DoD Response to the Brothers to the Rescue Incident - Phase II," August 10, 1998. Copies of both reports were delivered to the chairman and ranking minority members of multiple committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. In addition, on September 14, 1998, members of my staff met with both Ms. Yleen Poblete, of your subcommittee staff, and Mr. Mike Delph, Professional Staff, House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, chaired by Congressman Dan Burton, to discuss Phase II report and questions raised by Mr. Basulto.
The two reports address all of the DoD-related issues raised by Mr. Basulto's question. The two reports, classified Secret and containing Sensitive Compartmented Information, are available to you or to an appropriately cleared member of your staff by contacting the security officer of one of the congressional committees. We do not have unclassified versions of the reports which could be shared with Mr. Basulto. Additionally, we note that national security classifications prohibit us from providing detailed responses to many of the questions raised by Mr. Basulto.
We trust that this information is helpful and we regret that we are unable to provide a more comprehensive response to the complicated and sensitive questions raised by Mr. Basulto.
A similar letter has been provided to Congressman Diaz-Balart. If we may be of further assistance, please contact me or Mr. John R. Crane, Office of Congressional Liaison, at (703) 604-8324.
Sincerely,
Eleanor Hill
Inspector General
US Department of Justice
Criminal DivisionWashington DC 20530
November 17, 1998The Honorable Lincoln Diaz-Balart
U.S. Rouse of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Diaz- Balart:
The August 31, 1998, letter that you and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen jointly wrote to Attorney General Reno has been transmitted to this Office for response. Your letter forwarded questions posed by Jose Basulto president of Brothers to the Rescue ("BTTR") concerning the February 24, 1996, downing of two BTTR aircraft by the Cuban military.We have carefully reviewed Mr. Basulto's questions and have determined that they relate to the actions of agencies under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense. Questions 1 and 2 ask why the "Clinton administration" did not inform BTTR of conversations Mr. Basulto believes took place between US and Cuban military officials concerning BTTR's incursions into Cuban airspace. The remaining questions, 3-7, all relate to actions taken by the Air Force just prior to the downing of the BTTR planes and information about military terms and procedures.
In 1996, the Office of the Inspector General for the Defense Department was asked by Congress to examine many of the issues that are presented by Mr. Basulto's letter. Consequently, we have forwarded a copy of your letter to the Department of Defense Inspector General.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of further assistance in regard to this or any other matter.
Sincerely,
James K. Robinson
Assistant Attorney General
James S. Reynolds, Acting
Deputy Assistant Attorney General
Congress of the United States
Washington, DC 20515August 31, 1998
The Honorable Janet Reno
Attorney General of the United States
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Room 4545
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Dear Madame Attorney General:
W e were recently contacted by Mr. Jose Basulto regarding the shootdown of the Brothers to the Rescue (BTTR) planes on February 24, 1996.
We are enclosing certain questions and a related dossier on the shootdown of the two BTTR airplanes that still remain unanswered.
We respectfully ask you to please answer these questions that pertain to agencies under your jurisdiction.
Sincerely,
Lincoln Diaz-Balart
Member of Congress
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Member of Congress
cc: Mr. Jose Basulto
P.O. Box 430846
Miami, FL 33243-0846
THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20301-2500AUG 2 4 1998
The Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
2240 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515-0918
Dear Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen:
Thank you for your letter of August 10, 1998. The questions you raised will require careful research and coordination with the North American Defense Command, the United States Southern Command, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This process will require some time in order to fully answer your questions. My staff has begun to research the process and we will provide a response to you by mid-September.
The Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense has completed Phase II of "The DoD Response to the Brothers to the Rescue Incident". A copy of the classified report has been forwarded to Chairman Benjamin Gilman, House International Relations Committee. You may contact Chairman Gilman's office to discuss viewing the report, or you may contact the Inspector General directly if you wish to have a copy for your own records
With kind regards,
Sincerely,
H. Allen Holmes
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN
The Honorable H. Allen Holmes
Dear Assistant Secretary Holmes:
August 10, 1998
A constituent of my Congressional district, Mr. Armando Mendive, has followed up with my office regarding the Brothers to the Rescue (BTTR) shoot downs on February 24, 1996.Your letter of letter of May 22, 1998, in response to my letter of April 6, 1998 states that "We did, however, have two aircraft on a heightened state of alert to respond to the Cuban MiGs should they have crossed the 24th parallel, which they did not". Were these the interceptor jets at the Homestead Air Force Base which were placed on "battlestations alert" but were subsequently canceled due to a "miscommunication error"?
Furthermore, we would appreciate your response to my inquiry regarding the "trigger line" for the deployment of US aircraft. In addition, I would like to know if the copy of the Phase II of the DOD's Inspector General's report mentioned in your letter is now available.
In an effort to clarify some of these issues, and specifically the question of whether or not the Cuban MiG's in pursuit of Mr. Jose Basulto's plane crossed the 24th parallel, my office contacted Mr. Basulto. He provided my office with a copy of a dossier enclosed entitled "The downing of the Brothers to the Rescue Aircraft by Castro's MiGs. Additionally, Mr. Basulto forwarded to my office a list of unanswered questions regarding the shoot down. We have enclosed the entire list for your perusal and response. Question number 7 addresses the contradiction regarding the crossing of the 24th parallel by Castro's MiGs. The dossier contains letters from Mr. Basulto dated September 13, 1996 to Gil Kapen, House Committee on International Relations and a letter dated February 19, 1997 to General Howell M. Estes III, USAF, Commander in Chief, North American Aerospace Defense Command, Tabs 8 and 9, respectively, which remain unanswered.
We thank you for your letter of May 22, 1998 and respectfully ask you to address the remaining unanswered questions
Sincerely,
cc: Mr. Armando Mendive
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Member of Congress
THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
WASHINGTON. D.C. 20301-2500
May 22, 1998
The Honorable lleana Ros-Lehtinen
2240 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515-0918
Dear Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen:
Secretary Cohen asked that I respond to your April 6 letter. The circumstances surrounding the shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue (BTTR) aircraft were thoroughly reviewed by the North American Defense Command:(NORAD). NORAD has established the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in which unidentified aircraft proceeding toward the U.S. will result in a fighter scramble to intercept and identify. The MiGs never entered this critical zone. In addition, at no time did Cuban MiGs pose a threat or risk to the air sovereignty of the United States. We did, however, have two aircraft on a heightened state of alert to to the Cuban MiGs should they have crossed the 24th parallel, which they did not.
The investigation further determined that the MiGs closed no closer than 60 nautical miles to Key West and no closer than 23 nautical miles south of the 24th parallel. An unclassified version of the report was released to the House International Relations Committee.
The above findings of the NORAD report were validated by the Department of Defense Inspector General. A copy of The Inspector General's Phase I report was provided to Congressman Dan Burton on 16 April 1997. Ms. Eleanor Hill, the Inspector General, wrote Congressman Burton in March concerning the release of Phase II of the report on the shootdown of the BTTR aircraft. The IG has completed the Phase II review and is in the process of drafting the report. The IG anticipates publication in June 1998.
Sincerely,
H. Allen Holmes