KEY WEST, Fla., Dec. 11 (UPI) -- A Key West, Fla., jury convicted six Cubans of hijacking Thursday for commandeering a passenger plane over the Isle of Youth and taking it to Florida.
The 12-member federal jury deliberated six hours over two days and found all six guilty of air piracy, The Miami Herald said. The men face 20 years to life in prison.
U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King set sentencing for Feb. 26 in Miami.
Prosecutors said the hijackers held a knife to the throat of the pilot and others on the plane. The defense said the six crew members were in on the plot, and no one, including the 31 passengers was in danger.
The hijacking March 19 set off a series of three incidents that led to the execution of three men who had attempted to take a Havana Bay ferry to the United States.
