Havana follows through in punishing skyjacking

September 19, 1980

The Cuban government, making good on threats to take "drastic penal action" against hijackers, said two refugees who hijacked a jetliner to Havana Wednesday will be returned to the United States to face air piracy charges. In a broadcast monitored here, Havana Radio said the Cuban government "was obliged to adopt a drastic decision as a consequence" of the hijacking. It said the hijackers were "antisocials" and chastised them for not "listening to earlier warnings that nobody plays with the honor of the government." In Washington, the Federal Aviation Administration said a special US plane had been sent to Havana to fly the hijackers back to South Carolina.