MANO, an acronym meaning "hand" in Spanish, claimed credit for a letter bomb sent to the Cuban Embassy in Peru on February 4th, 1974. The previously unknown group released a statement claiming that the attack, which injured one person, was the first "warning" to communists to stop subversive activity in Peru. The group did not claim credit for any other incidents. <P><br /><br />The group's name and target indicate that MANO was anti-communist. The word "mano" appears in the names of other Latin American anti-communist groups (La Mano Blanca in Guatemala or El Salvador, for example). Because the group never claimed credit for, or was identified with, any subsequent attacks, it is unknown what political affiliations the bomber(s) might have had, or if they were linked to any other terrorist groups. It is likely that the attack was carried out by an individual or small group of individuals, rather than an active terrorist organization. <P><br /><br />However, the letter bombing was not the first attack on the Cuban Embassy in Lima that year. Another mail bomb exploded there on January 21st. That incident was credited to Cuban Action, an anti-Castro group. Cuban embassies in Mexico, Argentina, Canada, and Spain were also bombed by Cuban Action on the same day. In a separate incident, the Soviet Embassy in Lima was bombed by an unidentified group on March 10th. <P><br /><br />It is not known if the bombings against these embassies were connected. The similarities in targets do not necessarily imply a connection, as MANO may very well have been an indigenous Peruvian group unconnected to the anti-Castro opposition. However, it is also possible that MANO was a front organization for another terrorist group. For one, the mail bomb was originally postmarked in Mexico, not Peru. In addition, low-level violence against diplomatic targets in Peru was fairly common at the time. Small, non-lethal bombings occurred at American, Swiss, Bolivian, Colombian, and Yugoslavian embassies or consulates between 1973 and 1975. <P><br />