BRIDGETOWN — 1976 · Murder

The Cubana Flight 455 Bombing

ClosedSources: ALast updated: 14 October 2026

On 6 October 1976 two bombs exploded aboard Cubana Flight 455, a DC-8 bound from Barbados to Jamaica, eleven minutes after it left Seawell Airport, at about 18,000 feet. The aircraft fell into the sea off Barbados's west coast, killing all 48 passengers and 25 crew: 57 Cubans, 11 Guyanese and five North Koreans. Two Venezuelans who had planted the bombs and left the flight in Barbados were soon arrested. The attack was attributed to anti-Castro exile organisations. In the Venezuelan trial the two bombers each received 20 years; one alleged planner was acquitted and another escaped from custody and was never convicted of the crime. It is remembered as one of the deadliest acts of terrorism against an airliner in the Western Hemisphere.

Date
1976
Place
Off St. James, Barbados, Bridgetown, BB
Category
Murder
Case Status
Closed
Coordinates
13.1700, -59.6600 ↗

Timeline of Events

  1. 6 October 1976Two bombs exploded 11 minutes after take-off; the plane crashed into the sea.
  2. October 1976The two men who planted the bombs were arrested in Trinidad.
  1. 1980sThe two bombers were sentenced to 20 years each in Venezuela.
  2. 2005Released CIA documents showed the agency had advance intelligence of the plans.

Sources

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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.