Cuba marks 50 years since Flight 455 bombing killed 73

Cuba marked 50 years on Tuesday since the bombing of Cubana de Aviación Flight 455, the 1976 attack that killed all 73 people aboard as the passenger jet flew from Barbados toward Jamaica and Havana.

The victims included 57 Cubans, 11 Guyanese and five North Koreans. Twenty-four members of Cuba’s national fencing delegation were aboard after competing in the region, while several young Guyanese scholarship students were traveling to Cuba to study medicine, engineering and other fields.

Trinidad and Tobago’s foreign ministry describes the downing as an act of terrorism. Venezuelan nationals Hernán Ricardo Lozano and Freddy Lugo, who left the aircraft in Barbados, were later convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for their role in the bombing.

The case also drew scrutiny to Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch, prominent anti-Castro militants investigated over the attack. Declassified records reviewed by The Washington Post documented Posada’s past CIA connection and a State Department assessment that implicated him as a likely planner while stating the sabotage occurred without the CIA’s knowledge.

Miguel Díaz-Canel marked the anniversary on Tuesday by remembering the victims, including the young athletes who had been returning home after competition with medals and celebrations waiting in Cuba.

For Cuba, October 6 remains a national day of remembrance. Half a century later, Flight 455 endures as a defining case of political violence against civilian aviation in the Caribbean.