Hijacker returns to US after 30 years in Cuba

An American who hijacked an airliner to Cuba nearly 30 years ago as a self-described revolutionary was in custody today, a day after returning home on a charter flight from Havana.
Agents took William Potts, 56, into custody yesterday shortly after his flight arrived at Miami International Airport, said FBI spokesman Mike Leverock. Potts faces a 1985 federal indictment charging him with air piracy for hijacking a Piedmont Airlines flight in 1984.
In interviews prior to leaving Cuba, Potts said he was seeking "closure" and hoped to convince US prosecutors to give him credit for the 13-plus years he spent in Cuban prison for hijacking the flight.

The US charge carries a sentence of between 20 years and life in prison, according to federal prosecutors.
"My position is I am a free man. I have served my time," Potts said.
"But they seem to have another concept. They are going to take control of me. I will be under their authority." Potts was taken initially from the airport to the FBI's Miami field office and later will be transferred to a downtown detention center.

Potts is scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court this afternoon, where the first order of business will be getting him a lawyer.

US authorities have aggressively prosecuted some returning fugitives, while others saw their sentences reduced significantly for time served elsewhere.
Typically, a criminal defendant who pleads guilty and accepts responsibility qualifies for a more lenient sentence.
In the 1960s and 1970s, dozens of American aircraft were hijacked to communist Cuba at the height of the Cold War.
But by the time Potts commandeered his plane, they had become less frequent and Cuba had begun prosecuting the hijackers.