Alejandro Hurtado dynamite joke at Miami International Airport: Man charged after joke at airport

Associated Press

MIAMI -- A Guatemalan man has been charged after authorities say he jokingly claimed to have dynamite in his luggage at Miami International Airport.

Miami-Dade police say Concourse J was partially evacuated Monday afternoon.

According to an arrest report, when a ticket agent at TACA Airlines asked 63-year-old Alejandro Hurtado if he had any hazardous materials, Hurtado told the agent he had dynamite. The agent told Hurtado he was calling police, and Hurtado said he was only joking.

Bomb squad officers responded and searched the bag but found no explosives. Hurtado was taken into custody and charged with falsely reporting a bomb at an airport.

Airport officials say the security threat investigation delayed one outgoing Avianca Airlines flight by an hour. Some arriving international arrivals were also delayed because of the evacuation.