THE DOUBLE TRIAL OF THE CUBAN AIRMEN
Trial 1: March 2, 1959:Tribunal 1- ACQUITTED
Trial 2: March 8, 1959: Trbunal 2- SENTENCED TO 30 YEARS
I hereby testify:
• THAT I was one of the pilots from the Cuban Air Force who was selected at random to be tried in the first judicial “show“ fabricated by Castro that came to be known as “the double trial of the Cuban airmen.”
•THAT instead of being set free, we were taken to Boniato Prison right after the acquittal. That same night, in front of television cameras, Fidel Castro announced to the Cuban people that he did not accept the verdict of the Revolutionary Tribunal that he, himself, had appointed. He said: “ I do not accept the decision of the Revolutionary Tribunal. The pilots are potential conspirators and counter-revolutionaries and the revolution cannot afford to absolve them.”
• THAT on March 8, 1959 Fidel Castro appeared in front of the television cameras and all radio stations and, to the astonishment of the people of Cuba, ordered that the pilots be sentenced to 30 years of forced labor, the gunners to 20 years and the mechanics to 2 years.
I was victim of many acts of unbridled cruelty and savagery , but I will recount only one
One morning, during the years of forced labor in the Isle of Pines, I was sick with a high fever and diarrhea. I was weighing around 100 pounds at the time,had no shoes and was wearing torn pants. We were all supposed to again go out in the fields and dig holes.
I told the guard at the door of the prison that I was sick, that I felt real bad andthat I could not even stand, let alone go out and use a pick and shovel. The guard, acorporal known as Chucho told me to go back in, and as I turned he hit me so hard onthe neck with butt of his rifle, that I smashed the bars of the entrance gate and fell down.
As I laid on the floor, Chucho kept hitting and kicking me. Bleeding, in a mentalhaze, I managed to stand up and began screaming at him. The corporal went backa few steps and yelled an order to another soldier standing about 15 feet away fromus: “Get the bayonet! Give him the bayonet!”
As the soldier was obeying the order, a fellow prisoner (Ernesto Peñalver) got a holdof the empty wooden box where the bread for the prisoners was delivered, andran between me and the soldier with the wooden box in his hand. Immediately allthe other prisoners began shouting: “Stop! Stop! Don’t kill him! Don’t kill him!Don’t kill him!…” and two other prisoners pulled me inside.
The names of the 43 victims of this judicial monstrosity are listed below:
Pilots(sentenced to 30 years) |
| 1. Alonso Guillot, Ramón |
| 2. Alemany Peláez, Jorge |
| 3. Brito García, Juan |
| 4. Bermúdez Esquivel, Mario |
| 5. Bacallao Forte, Pedro |
| 6. Beruvides Ballesteros, Eulalio |
| 7. Buria Acosta, Luis |
| 8. Campbell Cole, Francisco |
| 9. Chappy Muñiz, Francisco |
| 10. Estévez y De Arcos, Guillermo |
| 11. Iglesias Ramírez, Manuel |
| 12. Lam Rodríguez, Roberto |
| 13. Lazo Cuba, Carlos |
| 14. Piñera Machín, Agustín |
| 15. Pérez-Valdés Montiel, Roberto |
| 16. Pieras Bustarviejo, Antonio |
| 17. Rodríguez De Castro, Ricardo |
| 18. Rodríguez, Edelso |
| 19. Somoano Alvarez, Gustavo |
Gunners(sentenced to 20 years) |
| 1. Becerra Alba, Rafael |
| 2. Bergeiro, Armando |
| 3. Córdova Aguilar, Arístides |
| 4. Delgado Hernández, Sandino |
| 5. Hernández, Nemesio |
| 6. Hernández, Pablo |
| 7. Mesa Yanez, Juan |
| 8. Piloto González, Francisco |
| 9. Yip Martínez, Gilberto |
Mechanics(sentenced to 2 years) |
| 1. Antúnez González, Telesforo |
| 2. Argüelles, Ramón |
| 3. Cernuda Valdés, Benigno |
| 4. Concepción, Julio |
| 5. Díaz Aguilar, Emilio |
| 6. Fernández, Máximo |
| 7. García Abreu, Julio |
| 8. Liyin, Cresencio |
| 9. Gómez Ballesta, Silvio |
| 10. Pinocho Fernández, Luis |
| 11. Pérez Morales, Florencio |
| 12. Reyes Basulto, Pablo |
| 13. Vasallo Lima, Pedro |
| 14. Vasallo, Silvio |