Recent reports from the Dominican and international press provide details regarding the case of Peruvian Ángel del Pino Cuya, also identified in some documents as Ricardo Casas, who is currently facing terrorism charges in the Dominican Republic.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Dominican Republic has formally accused the Peruvian national of terrorism following the false bomb threat at Las Américas International Airport (AILA) on 6 January 2026.
The hoax caused significant logistical and economic disruption to civil aviation with operations at Las Americas International (SDQ), the main airport serving the Greater Santo Domingo area, that was paralyzed for around three hours. The emergency triggered a massive deployment involving the Specialized Corps in Airport and Civil Aviation Security (CESAC), the National Intelligence Agency (DNI), and various military agencies.
The threat specifically targeted Copa Airlines Flight CM299 bound for Panama. The aircraft was forced to return to the gate for a full security sweep that did not turn up anything related to a bomb.
Incoming flights, including those from JetBlue (from New York) and United, had to be diverted to airports in Santiago (STI) and Punta Cana (PUJ).
The Peruvian is currently held at the San Luis preventive jail in eastern Santo Domingo. The Ministry Público has requested preventive detention and that the case be declared complex due to the severe impact on national security and the risk of flight. An arraignment hearing is scheduled for Thursday, 5 February 2026, at the Palace of Justice in Santo Domingo Este.
During initial interrogations, the accused admitted he had claimed that he was calling from France. He later changed his version of events, claiming that a “family friend” had been the one to alert him about the supposed threat. Media reports have not given an explanation as to why the Peruvian made the call that caused the major disruptions to air travel.
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Diario Libre
4 February 2026