Arrested and jailed 13 days in Cuba for flying a drone

[Alex Baxter]

Deserved it, self-publicising #@#:

 

[davoud]

you got that right.

I take it you have documentary evidence for Cuba "disappearing" people. Or are you referring to the U.S. base at Guantanamo on Cuban soil?

 

[rick1947]

no just all hear say

 

[pe9999]

Okay all you world travelers. This guy said early on in his video that he has been to Cuba many times before. It seems that this time is the first time he has brought a P4. Maybe not, though. But, when he ended up in "Revolution Square", that is when he was arrested. If you check out "Revolution Square" in Wikipedia, Plaza de la Revolución - Wikipedia, you will find that, "The National Library, many government ministries, and other buildings are located in and around the Plaza. Located behind the memorial is the Palace of the Revolution, the seat of the Cuban government and Communist Party." This is a very important part of Cuba. Kinda like the White House area. We can't fly there either. Why should you be able to fly around their White House, or the seat of the Palace of the Revolution? This is why when a person can fly above the normal tourist with a standard or not so standard camera, that they think you are a spy. This is why he was jailed. The didn't know what he was up to. You will be arrested if you fly around the White House too. So, he was not stupid, he has been there many times before and he thought, cool, what a great place to put my drone in the air. Why should he do research on a place that he knew nothing about. He did not plan to go to that place. He just happened upon this "Square", only to find out later that this was a very important place where "The square is notable as being where many political rallies take place and Fidel Castro and other political figures address Cubans. Fidel Castro has addressed more than a million Cubans on many important occasions, such as 1 May and 26 July each year." This from Wikipedia. He didn't know! This is the communist seat of Cuba. Give me a break people. Put yourself in his place and you just happened upon this location and what a great place to fly your P4, right? We do the same thing at Santa Monica Pier, California and get hassled by the police. This is just a tourist spot in Santa Monica and a great place to put our drones in the air. Luckily, in America, they don't arrest us, they just tell us we cannot fly there. Makes you wonder about America, right? This isn't the White House, just a tourist spot. When we try to fly somewhere in America and then we get arrested, that is the time to worry. Might as well go to Cuba. Lol. Good for this guy for making his video and alerting all us drone pilots to the ways of other countries, especially communist countries. Beware, not all countries are free, or seemingly free. I'm free in America to fly according to the FAA with certain restraints. Yet, many communities who don't like drones or prefer to cater to their citizenship and say; I don't care what the FAA says, you can't fly here! Who is free? Thought provoking, yes. Think about it.

FAA is not a world organization. Why other countries follow their rules.

 

[NRJ]

You cannot "not know" that this place is where the government buildings are located. This is a well known and toured place for tourist visits, advertised everywhere in the "what to do where to go" stuff. So simply by being there, he was aware what it was. The more I think to it, the more I wonder if he's more stupid or careless, he really did it on purpose, He probably wanted to get some kind of "strong pictures".. West bank or Medellin, Colombia are not exactly the place to do tourism either. What's the point? He's not even journalist. Adrenalin rush... when you have a wife and 2 kids. Yeah maybe he's just stupid finally!

You might be aware, but others may not be aware. Everyone is not as aware as you might be. It sounds to me like he was just enjoying the moment, otherwise why would he put his children and wife in jeopardy? Maybe, now he won't be so unaware. Lesson learned I would say.

 

[rick1947]

no just all hear say

well to my last quot:take like MIA's in vetmam,where are thay?

 

[rick1947]

I take it you have documentary evidence for Cuba "disappearing" people. Or are you referring to the U.S. base at Guantanamo on Cuban soil?

no but where are the MIA's in vetnam?

 

[NRJ]

FAA is not a world organization. Why other countries follow their rules.

I'm not sure why they follow our rules, if they do.

 

[Thomas Cole]

Sorry if it is redundant, I searched for it and didn't find it, so I post it now:

This poor guy tell his unbelievable story. really sad actually !

Duh

 

[Thomas Cole]

Duh

Just another Drone operator who gives the test of us a bad name. Idiot.....period....he deserved it....how he got it on the country is the question. Clear with the proper authorities, get a permit and then you wont have to whine like a baby! I have travelled to more countries than this guy and am certainly smarter.

 

[Illina]

Okay, I could only stand to watch about half of it. His "long story short" went on and on and on. Something I don't get, and maybe he explains after I stopped watching, how come they took his stuff but ended up giving him back the quad and even more so, the video card?

 

[NRJ]

Just another Drone operator who gives the test of us a bad name. Idiot.....period....he deserved it....how he got it on the country is the question. Clear with the proper authorities, get a permit and then you wont have to whine like a baby! I have travelled to more countries than this guy and am certainly smarter.

Thats interesting that you think like that.

 

[NRJ]

Okay, I could only stand to watch about half of it. His "long story short" went on and on and on. Something I don't get, and maybe he explains after I stopped watching, how come they took his stuff but ended up giving him back the quad and even more so, the video card?

Why don't you just watch the rest of the video?

 

[HoboDan]

Sorry if it is redundant, I searched for it and didn't find it, so I post it now:

This poor guy tell his unbelievable story. really sad actually !

FEEL FOR YA MY BROTHER,,,, BUT, AND I AM EMBARRSSED TO SAY, (FROM WHAT I HAVE READ ON THE NET), THERE IS A CITY IN ARIZONA CALLED PARADISE VALLEY... A NICE NAME IF YOU ARE A PARADISE VALLEY RESIDENT I FEEL.... BUT, IF YOU ARE A DRONE FLYER, YOU ARE A CRIMINAL... AGAIN, FROM WHAT I HAVE SEEN ONLINE IN THE PAST YEARS, A DRONE PILOT FLEW OVER A PERSONS HEAD AND IN THE BEGGINNING POSTS, I FELT THIS PERSON WAS BUZZING SOMEONE.... HE WENT TO JAIL... AND A LAW WAS ESTABLISHED THAT ANYONE FLYING WILL SPEND 6 WEEKS IN JAIL... FROM WHAT I KEPT READING, THE PERSON WENT TO COURT, AND WAS FOUND GUILTY OF FLYING OVER A PERSONS HOME.... oh my goodness... HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I FLOWN OVER A HOME... ANYWAY, THE LAW AT THAT TIME FROM WHAT I WAS TOLD WAS ANYONE THAT FLYS A DRONE IN THIS CITY WILL GO TO JAIL... NOW, OUR FAIR GOVERNOR HAS NOW PASSED A STATE WIDE LAW THAT STATES THAT DRONES ARE A HOBBY AND JUST LIKE OTHER HOBBYS, NEED A PLACE TO ENJOY... SO, IF A CITY DOESNT WANT TO ALLOW DRONES FLYING EVERYWHERE, THEY MUST ALLOW AT LEAST 1 PLACE TO FLY.... COME HERE TO FLY, BUT DONT SPEND YOUR VACATION MONEY IN PARADISE VALLEY... THEY DONT DESERVE IT.

 

[Easy-V]

I have two observations:
1. Some people have more money than sense
2. At least he got his drone and most his footage back

 

[Jeff48920]

[QUOTE="Thomas Cole, post: 975941, member: 33164"Clear with the proper authorities, get a permit and then you wont have to whine like a baby! I have travelled to more countries than this guy and am certainly smarter.[/QUOTE]
Just to reiterate my earlier post. I went through ALL diplomatic channels prior to our trip to Cuba to get permission to bring my P3P on our trip in late July. I was denied permission and left it home. **** shame too. The Pinar del Rio area is freaking gorgeous and would have loved to get aerial photos to add to our video and stills.
I just have to add that, after extensive travel abroad, the Cuban people are among the most wonderful and welcoming people Sharon and I ever had the privilege of meeting. I wish them nothing but success in their endeavors to keep Cuba a sovereign nation and an emerging second world country.

 

[iflyhelis]

Sorry if it is redundant, I searched for it and didn't find it, so I post it now:

This poor guy tell his unbelievable story. really sad actually !

You must abide the Countries rules. Research it , next time when you want to go some-where. I always do. I live in the U.S.A. But when I travel, I always check into what I can bring into their Country, with-out getting arrested.

Kurt


P.S.

You lucked-Out! Only 13 days!