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Family of 1975 bombing victim urges Congress to press Cuba on fugitives and extradition

U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations · December 12, 2024

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Summary

At a House subcommittee hearing, Joseph Connor recounted his father's 1975 death in a Frances Tavern bombing, urged that Cuba be held accountable for harboring fugitives and cited pending legislation seeking justice and extradition.

Joseph (Joe) Connor told the subcommittee he has spent decades seeking justice for his father, Frank Connor, who was killed in a 1975 bombing attributed to the FALN. "My name is Joe Connor," he said as he recounted the attack and the family’s long campaign to bring suspects to justice.

Connor described the FALN’s pattern of bombings in the 1970s and the group’s links he alleges to Cuban support, and he named specific fugitives he says have been sheltered abroad. He cited recent legislative efforts: the Frank Connor Warner Forster Justice Act in the Senate (sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio with cosponsor Sen. Rick Scott) and a related House measure introduced in 2023, which he said would "call out Cuba for supporting and sponsoring terrorists" and demand return of named suspects to face U.S. justice.

He also criticized past clemency decisions affecting convicted FALN members and said the family continues to press the State Department and Justice Department for extradition. The committee did not act on the matter during the hearing; Chairman Smith and other members thanked Connor for his decades‑long advocacy.