25th Silent Vigil for Justice at FIU for Brothers to the Rescue shoot down victims

In memory of our advisor Martin L. Tracey PhD who passed away on February 23, 2021.

 

Members of the Free Cuba Foundation since 1996 have carried out or participated in a silent vigil for justice at Florida International University (FIU) every year for the past 25 years.  Today we once again took part in a silent vigil at the school. The vigil began at 3:21pm, the time the first plane was shot down, and concluding  the vigil at the end of 3:27pm, the time the second plane was destroyed.

Why do we do this? Because this was an act of state terrorism carried out by the Castro dictatorship on the orders of Fidel and Raul Castro through the entire chain of command down to the pilots who executed the illegal order. We are demanding justice and the full truth of what happened,  and with this annual action preserving the memory of the men killed, and the need for justice.

Silent vigil at FIU on February 24, 2021

Mario de la Peña, age 24; Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, both 30, and Armando Alejandre Jr., 45 were all blown out of international airspace on February 24, 1996. They were members of the humanitarian organization Brothers to the Rescue.

They were killed while engaged in a search and rescue for Cuban rafters in the Florida Straits. They were hunted down and intercepted by a Cuban MiG-29UB Fulcrum and a MiG-23ML Fishbed over the Florida Straits.

These jets — a two-man MiG-29 UB and a MiG-23 ML —were armed with heat-seeking air-to-air missiles and machine guns.  

The MiG-29UB, piloted by Lorenzo Alberto Peréz Peréz, shot down N2456S and N5485S, carrying Mario, Carlos, Pablo, and Armando while N2506 escaped.  They were killed on Fidel and Raul Castro's orders, and with the assistance of Cuban spies in Miami providing flight times and other pertinent information to Havana.

Aboard N2506 were Sylvia Iriondo, Andrés Iriondo,  Jose Basulto, and Arnaldo Iglesias. They lived to set the record straight on what happened.

The belief is that the three planes set out a little later than expected based on the data provided by the spies, and the MiGs hunting for them ran low on fuel after destroying the two civilian planes with air-to-air missiles. The time it took to get assets back in the air to hunt for the third plane gave them crucial time to escape. 

Family members plant the tree on March 6, 1997

 

After the vigil at the main fountain we walked over to the law school where a tree was planted in their honor on March 6, 1997.

The same tree on February 24, 2021

 

Normally we would encourage students and members of the community to join us in this gathering around the main fountain at FIU, with family members and friends of Mario, Carlos, Pablo, and Armando, but due to COVID-19 we recommended people of good will carry out a virtual vigil. 

This would involve taking a picture, describing what happened, and sharing a link to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights report on the shoot down.

"To forget the victims means to kill them a second time. So I couldn't prevent the first death. I surely must be capable of saving them from a second death." - Elie Wiesel#TruthJusticeMemory #ArmandoCarlosMarioPabloViven

REPORT Nº 86/99 CASE 11.589https://t.co/wQGB25ynuN pic.twitter.com/6UQJDAZRwT

— Center for Free Cuba (@cubacenter) February 25, 2021

Please join us in this action and let others know about this crime.

CUBA: Twenty five minutes of silence for twenty five years of impunity

Justice for the victims of the "13 de Marzo" tugboat massacre.

Human rights and civil society organizations are calling for a silent demonstration in remembrance of the victims of the "13 de Marzo"Tugboat, who were murdered by the Castro regime on July 13, 1994.

Human rights activists, members of international civil society and Cuban exiles will gather in front of the Embassy of Cuba located at 2630 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20009 to hold a 25 minute vigil  of silence for the 25 years that the crime has remained unpunished.

WHAT: Vigil to remember "13 de Marzo" Tugboat victims killed 25 years ago by the Castro regime.

WHEN: July 10, 2019 at 8 PM

WHO:   Human rights organizations and international civil society.

WHERE: Embassy of Cuba
                 2630 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20009

The facts:

On July 13, 1994, a group of 72 Cubans, including children and women, tried to escape from the Island of Cuba aboard an old tugboat. State Security Forces, and four Cuban State boats of the Havana regime intercepted the boat 7 miles off the coast of Cuba, with water jets from pressure hoses pulled people off the deck, tore the children from the arms of their mothers and sank the tugboat. 37 people were murdered, 11 of them children.

Despite the fact that the UN Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and other international organizations issued reports documenting the crime, despite the fact that the survivors and relatives of the victims requested an independent investigation of the facts, and that the bodies of the deceased be recovered from the sea, nothing happened. Those who gave the order of the sinking and those who carried it out still remain without being held accountable. The crime remains unpunished.

July 13, 1994 "13 de Marzo" Tugboat Massacre Victims

Hellen Martínez Enriquez. Age: 5 Months
Xicdy Rodríguez Fernández. Age: 2
Angel René Abreu Ruíz. Age: 3
José Carlos Niclas Anaya. Age: 3
Giselle Borges Alvarez. Age: 4
Caridad Leyva Tacoronte. Age: 5
Juan Mario Gutiérrez García. Age: 10
Yousell Eugenio Pérez Tacoronte. Age: 11
Yasser Perodín Almanza. Age: 11
Eliécer Suárez Plasencia. Age: 12
Mayulis Méndez Tacoronte. Age: 17
Miladys Sanabria Leal. Age: 19
Joel García Suárez. Age: 20
Odalys Muñoz García. Age: 21
Yalta Mila Anaya Carrasco. Age: 22
Luliana Enríquez Carrazana. Age: 22
Jorge Gregorio Balmaseda Castillo. Age: 24
Lissett María Alvarez Guerra. Age: 24
Ernesto Alfonso Loureiro. Age: 25
María Miralis Fernández Rodríguez. Age: 27
Leonardo Notario Góngora. Age: 28
Jorge Arquímedes Levrígido Flores. Age: 28
Pilar Almanza Romero. Age: 31
Rigoberto Feu González. Age: 31
Omar Rodríguez Suárez. Age: 33
Lázaro Enrique Borges Briel. Age: 34
Julia Caridad Ruíz Blanco. Age: 35
Martha Caridad Tacoronte Vega. Age: 35
Eduardo Suárez Esquivel. Age: 38
Martha Mirella Carrasco Sanabria. Age: 45
Augusto Guillermo Guerra Martínez. Age: 45
Rosa María Alcalde Puig. Age: 47
Estrella Suárez Esquivel. Age: 48
Reynaldo Joaquín Marrero Alamo. Age: 48
Amado González Raices. Age: 50
Fidencio Ramel Prieto Hernández. Age: 51
Manuel Cayol. Age: 56 

13 minute silent vigil for July's Cuban martyrs on July 13 at FIU's main fountain at 12 noon

Remembering two terrible days in July in Cuba

2018 marks 24 years since the massacre of 37 Cubans on July 13, 1994 when they tried to flee the island on board the Cuban tugboat "13 de marzo" by Castro regime agents. The crime was well documented by international human rights organizations and institutions. July will mark six years since Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, and Harold Cepero were killed by Cuban state security agents on July 22, 2012.

FCF members together with Sirley Avila Leon hold vigil at FIU in 2017

We will gather in silent protest at the main fountain at Florida International University and demand justice for the victims of the "13 de Marzo" tugboat massacre and for martyrs Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero.

FCF members together with Rosa Maria Payá hold vigil at FIU in 2016

Rosa Maria Payá Acevedo, Oswaldo's daughter, protesting in front of the Cuban Interests Section on July 10, 2014 observed a profound truth: "State crimes are never an issue exclusive to the families of the victims." In 2016 she accompanied Free Cuba Foundation members at Florida International University in a 13 minute moment of silence for July's Cuban martyrs.

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel explained in his 1986 Nobel Lecture why it is important to remember:  "To forget the victims means to kill them a second time. So I couldn't prevent the first death. I surely must be capable of saving them from a second death." ... "There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." This is why we protest.

What:   13 Minute Silent Vigil
When:  Friday, July 13 at 12 noon
Where: Main Fountain at Florida International University
             [Between Library, and Charles Perry (PC) building]
Why:    Remember and Demand Justice for the Slain

July 22, 2012 Extrajudicial Killings

Oswaldo José Payá Sardiñas. Age: 60
Harold Cepero Escalante. Age: 32

July 13, 1994 "13 de Marzo" Tugboat Massacre Victims

Hellen Martínez Enriquez. Age: 5 Months
Xicdy Rodríguez Fernández. Age: 2
Angel René Abreu Ruíz. Age: 3
José Carlos Niclas Anaya. Age: 3
Giselle Borges Alvarez. Age: 4
Caridad Leyva Tacoronte. Age: 5
Juan Mario Gutiérrez García. Age: 10
Yousell Eugenio Pérez Tacoronte. Age: 11
Yasser Perodín Almanza. Age: 11
Eliécer Suárez Plasencia. Age: 12
Mayulis Méndez Tacoronte. Age: 17
Miladys Sanabria Leal. Age: 19
Joel García Suárez. Age: 20
Odalys Muñoz García. Age: 21
Yalta Mila Anaya Carrasco. Age: 22
Luliana Enríquez Carrazana. Age: 22
Jorge Gregorio Balmaseda Castillo. Age: 24
Lissett María Alvarez Guerra. Age: 24
Ernesto Alfonso Loureiro. Age: 25
María Miralis Fernández Rodríguez. Age: 27
Leonardo Notario Góngora. Age: 28
Jorge Arquímedes Levrígido Flores. Age: 28
Pilar Almanza Romero. Age: 31
Rigoberto Feu González. Age: 31
Omar Rodríguez Suárez. Age: 33
Lázaro Enrique Borges Briel. Age: 34
Julia Caridad Ruíz Blanco. Age: 35
Martha Caridad Tacoronte Vega. Age: 35
Eduardo Suárez Esquivel. Age: 38
Martha Mirella Carrasco Sanabria. Age: 45
Augusto Guillermo Guerra Martínez. Age: 45
Rosa María Alcalde Puig. Age: 47
Estrella Suárez Esquivel. Age: 48
Reynaldo Joaquín Marrero Alamo. Age: 48
Amado González Raices. Age: 50
Fidencio Ramel Prieto Hernández. Age: 51
Manuel Cayol. Age: 56  

These crimes are not isolated but part of a pattern of extreme cruelty by the Castro regime. For those who advocate forgiveness and reconciliation in Cuba, the Free Cuba Foundation agrees with you, but we leave an important caveat first stated by Lewis B. Smedes, a theologian: When you give up vengeance, make sure you are not giving up on justice.

In the spirit of remembrance be sure to purchase the new book written by Cuban martyr Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas in the months prior to his untimely death and the book on July 13, 1994 tugboat massacre written by Jose Garcia. The long awaited book "The night will not be eternal" by Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas is available today on Amazon and published by Editorial Hypermedia Inc. In 2017 the third edition of The sinking of the 13 de Marzo tugboat was released and is also available for purchase.