Did Learjet plan illegal Cuba sales?
WICHITA, Kan. – (UPI) -Gates Learjet Corp. reportedly tried to sell $10 million worth of aircraft to persons the firm suspected of being Cuban agents, despite an embargo on U.S.-Cuban trade. However, The Wichita Eagle-Beacon reported in its Sunday edition that the deal was called off after another aircraft piloted by the suspected Cubans was impounded by the U.S. government, causing the Latin Americans to become concerned that the attempted sale would be thwarted. The instigator of the deal with Learjet six months ago was Oscar Domingo Vazquez, who had claimed to be a Nicaraguan but was identified by the Treasury Department as a Cuban government official. The Eagle-Beacon reported that Learjet, despite earlier warnings by the Treasury Department that Vazquez might be a Cuban, still received an export license for the deal from the Commerce Department. Learjet then proceeded with plans to sell three aircraft to the group although Learjet’s vice president of international sales, Finn Hedl
