HAVANA, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Nearly two dozen Cuban men who smashed a stolen bus through the gates of the Mexican Embassy nearly three years ago have gone on trial in Havana.
The 23 men were trying to gain asylum at the embassy by crashing into the grounds in February 2002, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Thursday from its Havana bureau.
The trial began Wednesday and was expected to wind up Friday. The men face 5- to 12-year sentences for the incident.
Cuban officials said after the hijacked bus was rammed into the gate, many of the men jumped out and clambered over the walls into the embassy.
The incident ended two days later when Cuban law enforcement officers, acting on a request by the Mexicans, evicted the men in a predawn raid.
The Mexican government did not press charges.
The Cuban government blamed the United States' Radio Marti for broadcasting remarks by a Mexican official that the embassy doors "are open to all Cuban citizens."
