Police in Florida on Tuesday announced the arrest of a Cuban fugitive who had been on the run for 26 years, earning himself the nickname The Ghost.
Anibal Mustelier, 66, was detained in Hialeah, near Miami, on charges of armed robbery and grand theft. He is also suspected of having worked as a contract killer, officials say. Police say they were led to Mr Mustelier by an informant who had knowledge about a jewellery theft on 7 August which allegedly involved him.
US Marshalls first issued an arrest warrant for Mr Mustelier in Hialeah Police Sergeant Carl Zogby said arresting officers had not at first realised who they had in their custody because Mr Mustelier had given them a false name. Sgt Zogby said Mr Mustelier was wanted for his alleged participation in two murder attempts in and , during the heyday of the Miami drug wars, when rival drug dealers fought over control of the city. But an attempt to shoot Francisco Condom-Gil dead and a subsequent attempt to blow him up in his car both failed.
Francisco Condom-Gil was a veteran of the Bay of Pigs failed military invasion of Cuba and claimed that he was being targeted for his anti-Castro views. Blanco Lima was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the attempted murder and Mr Mustelier, who could not be found, was indicted on charges of conspiracy to murder in his absence. Police believe during his time on the run, Mr Mustelier went on to become a prolific bank robber. Police originally thought that after the robbery he had fled to either his native Cuba or to Venezuela.
But they now suspect he may have been hiding all along in the Miami area, using a number of aliases. For the past 18 months, Mr Mustelier had been sharing a small, single-storey, detached home in Hialeah with his girlfriend, Sgt Zogby said. Hialeah police suspect him of being behind a recent string of jewellery store robberies.
