Ten people had already been under indictment, charged with trying to penetrate U.S. military bases, infiltrate exile groups and manipulate U.S. media and political organizations. Authorities describe the spy ring as the largest Cuban espionage operation uncovered in the United States in decades.
The new indictment returned Friday adds four new defendants and accuses Gerardo Hernandez of providing information about Brothers to the Rescue flights to Cuba before Cuban fighter jets shot down the Miami-based group's planes over international waters, killing four.
Hernandez, who was arrested last year on spy-related charges by the FBI, ``received instructions that under no circumstances should Miami-based agents fly with (Brothers to the Rescue),'' the day the planes were shot down, the Justice Department said.
``We're very pleased to see that action is being taken against some of the participants,'' said Jose Basulto, the group's leader. ``It was a case of premeditated murder.''
Hernandez alone was charged with conspiracy to perpetrate murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. After the planes were shot down, the indictment said, Cuba's spy agency recognized Hernandez for his role and promoted him to captain.
The 14 defendants also were accused of infiltrating, informing on and manipulating anti-Castro Cuban political groups in Miami and Dade County, spreading disinformation within the groups and carrying out orders from the Cuban government.
Ten defendants were arrested in September 1998 and remain in pretrial detention, prosecutors said. Five of them already have pleaded guilty to spy-related charges.
© Copyright 1999 The Associated Press