The Bangor Daily News is reporting a Maine woman has sued Fidel Castro for her father’s death.
Sherry Sullivan of Stockton Springs accuses Fidel Castro, his brother Raul, the Cuban army, and the Republic of Cuba for the wrongful death of her father, who has been missing and assumed dead since he was last seen at a Mexican airstrip in 1963.
According to the lawsuit, from 1960 until their disappearance, Sullivan and Rorke participated in numerous covert anti-Castro operations in Central America and Cuba. They also took part in Operation Mongoose, a covert-action sabotage and subversion program against Cuba run by the CIA.
Compare that to the story of prisoner 345 (lesser known as Sami Al-Hajj), a reporter for Al Jazeera who was captured by the US and has now been held in Guantanamo Bay for over five years. Actually, compare that to hundreds of prisoners who’ve been held and tortured there.
Still, Sherry Sullivan is hopeful about her prospects, noting:
in the past few years, state courts have ruled in a number of wrongful death claims against the Castro regime and have awarded millions of dollars to the families of victims. Damages have been paid from Cuban assets frozen by the U.S. government shortly after the Castro revolution, Sullivan said.
According to The Associated Press, at the end of 2005, approximately $270 million in Cuban assets were frozen in U.S. bank accounts.
“I’m just basically filing the same type of suit that has won in other courts,” Sullivan said.
One wonders what Sami Al-Hajj’s family might say.