But at the same time, he triggered a potential clash among competing interests for a small lode of frozen Cuban assets in Washington. And uneasy officials in Washington said they wanted to test foreign policy ramifications before they wrote any checks.
In a 33-page decision, Senior U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King denounced the Feb. 24, 1996, deaths of pilots Armando Alejandre, Carlos Alberto Costa and Mario Manuel de la Peña as ``callous murders.'' He concluded that their families collectively deserve $49,927,911 in compensatory damages and another $137.7 million in punitive damages.
The family of Pablo Morales, a fourth pilot who perished, was not involved in the case because he was not a U.S. citizen.
The ruling was the first time a federal judge has found a foreign nation liable for a terrorist act under a law passed last year by Congress, which allowed nations to be sued through the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996.
Under that law, American citizens or their relatives may bring legal action against a country if they fall victim to an act of terrorism sponsored by that country's government.
The ruling by far exceeded the expectations of family attorneys. After a three-day, nonjury trial last month, they staked a claim for a combined $79.9 million in damages.
``It's a very powerful document,'' said Miami attorney Roberto Martinez, a former U.S. attorney for South Florida. ``It's a stronger statement than we submitted to the court.''
``Justice is done,'' said Miami attorney Frank Angones, the first lawyer to appear in King's chambers when they opened Wednesday. A lifelong friend of Alejandre, he said his clients wanted a judicial finding that their loved ones had been murdered by Fidel Castro's air force.
The three families filed their suits against Cuba and its air force in late 1996. The cases were later consolidated for one trial.
Cuba, through a diplomatic note, refused to recognize the court's jurisdiction and did not defend itself. It contends that the case was part of an anti-Castro campaign by the U.S. government.
Cuba in default
Despite the judgment, family lawyers acknowledged it would be difficult to collect. The only assets available are $148 million in Cuban revenues frozen by the U.S. Treasury Department. Of that figure, only $38 million belongs to the Cuban government. The balance is telephone toll money belonging to the Cuban telephone company.
``It's going to be very difficult to collect,'' said Robert Muse, an international lawyer in Washington. ``Clearly, Cuba is not going to voluntarily comply. The families are going to be left to remedies of attachment of Cuban government assets in the United States. That is made very difficult by the fact of the trade embargo on Cuba. There are no assets subject to attachment.''
Moreover, 5,911 other individuals have staked claims to the money. They represent various corporate and individual interests that were certified by the U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission.
Standing in line
``The courts have repeatedly said that those monies were frozen to meet claims rising from incidents during and after the revolution,'' Muse said.
Miami aviation lawyer Aaron Podhurst, who helped argue the families' case, disagreed. He said the terrorism law would make it difficult for Congress and the White House to ignore King's judgment.
``This judgment by a United States District Court judge intellectually makes it very difficult for the Congress and the administration not to enforce their own statute,'' he said. ``I'm hoping our congressional people and senators will help us get through the red tape.''
Martinez said the families' lawyers would seek a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control to gain access to the Cuban money. Both lawyers said they would try to act within the next several months.
Although the terrorism law won enthusiastic passage last year, they may face political and bureaucratic resistance next year.
Lukewarm support
And a White House official who declined to be identified said the issue must be studied in the context of other nations on the U.S. government's state-sponsored terrorism list.
``There is no precedent,'' the official said. ``This has ramifications well beyond Cuba -- there is a need to consider the implications for Syria, Iran and Libya.''
As it is, the Clinton administration, while under political pressure to react to the pilots' deaths last year, dipped into the Cuban assets and distributed $300,000 to each of the four victims' families.
The Treasury Department later informed lawmakers that the action was the first time since World War II that a president had tapped into frozen accounts belonging to another country.
Justice a priority
Ana Ciereszko, sister of Armando Alejandre, said she and other families have visited the Justice Department in Washington and the U.S. attorney's office in Miami seeking criminal indictments against the Cuban pilots.
Mirta Mendez, sister of Carlos Costa, said they had visited Attorney General Janet Reno and the three most recent U.S. attorneys in Miami. She said they had been told that an investigation is continuing, but received no details.
Aware that a finding of criminal culpability is a distant goal, the families said they pursued the civil action first.
``The reason we chose this way is because it was the case we had control over,'' Ciereszko said. ``This is a long trek, and we know it.''
Copyright © 1997 The Miami Herald