It was 29 years ago today, in the early morning darkness of July 13, 1994, when 37 men, women, and children climbed aboard a ship unaware their lives would soon be ended by the communist regime they were trying to escape. They had just taken a tugboat named “13 de Marzo” with the plan to use it to escape oppression and reach freedom in America. It was a daring attempt and illegal in communist Cuba, but it was also one of the very few options they had to escape the tyranny and slavery of Cuba’s Castro dictatorship. They made it seven miles from the Cuban shore before the Cuban military intercepted them.
Knowing they were caught, the escapees stopped the tugboat and announced their surrender. But the Cuban military was not interested in taking any prisoners. Without mercy or hesitation, they began ramming the tug boat while battering the men, women, and children on the deck with water cannons. The assault was relentless and did not end until the tugboat sank.
It became obvious seven miles was not far enough from Cuba to free themselves from the oppression and misery they were trying to escape. However, it was far enough that the only ones who heard their screams of horror and pain before being swallowed up by the sea were their executioners and the few of them who miraculously survived.
Twenty-nine years later, the Castro regime continues its efforts to silence their screams. But hard as they may try, the screams of those ten children and 27 adults mercilessly and violently murdered by the Castro regime can still be heard today. And no matter what the Cuban regime does, those screams will continue to haunt the Castro dictatorship and the regime’s enablers day and night. Those voices of the dead will never cease accusing their executioners until the Castros are brought to justice.
Neither the Castro family nor any other members of their murderous dictatorship have been brought to justice — let alone indicted in an international court — for this horrific crime. And for 29 long years the world continues standing idly by and pretending these innocent victims never existed, never breathed, never yearned for freedom, and never screamed for help.
Today we remember the victims of the “13 de Marzo” Tugboat Massacre. We will continue honoring these martyrs for generations, and long after their executioners are brought to justice, either in this world or the next.
(You can read more about the anniversary of the “13 de Marzo” Tugboat Massacre at Notes from the Cuban Exile.)
The names of each an every child, woman, and man murdered on this day in 1994:
The Children Assassinated:
1- Hellen Martínez Enríquez. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 months old
2- Xicdy Rodríguez Fernández . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 years old
3- Angel René Abreu Ruiz . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . …. 3 years old
4- José Carlos Nicle Anaya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 years old
5- Giselle Borges Alvarez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 years old
6- Caridad Leyva Tacoronte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 years old
7- Juan Mario Gutiérrez García . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 years old
8- Yasser Perodín Almanza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 11 years old
9- Yousell Eugenio Pérez Tacoronte . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 years old
10- Eliecer Suárez Plasencia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 years old
The Young Men and Women Assassinated:
11- Mayulis Menéndez Tacoronte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 years old
12- Miladys Sanabria Cabrera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 years old
13 – Joel García Suárez . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 years old
14- Odalys Muñoz García . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 years old
15- Yaltamira Anaya Carrasco . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . 22 years old
16- Yuliana Enríquez Carrazana . . … . . . . . . . . . . . 22 years old
17- Lissett María Alvarez Guerra . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . 24 years old
18- Jorge Gregorio Balmaseda Castillo . . . . . . . . . . . 24 years old
19- Ernesto Alfonso Loureiro .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 years old
20- María Miralis Fernández Rodríguez . . . . . . . . .. . . 27 years old
21- Jorge Arquímedes Levrígido Flores .. . . . . . . . . . . 28 years old
22- Leonardo Notario Góngora . .. …. . . . . . . . . . . . 28 years old
23- Pilar Almanza Romero . . . . . …. . . . . . . . . .. . 31 years old
24- Rigoberto Feu González . . ….. . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 years old
25- Omar Rodríguez Suárez . . . ….. . . . . . . . . .. . . 33 years old
26- Lázaro Enrique Borges Briel . ….. . . . . . . . .. . . 34 years old
27- Martha Caridad Tacoronte Vega . ….. . . . . . . . . . 35 years old
28- Julia Caridad Ruiz Blanco . . . …. . . . . . . . . . . 35 years old
The Men and Women Assassinated:
29- Eduardo Suárez Esquivel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 years old
30- Martha M.Carrasco Sanabria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 years old
31- Augusto Guillermo Guerra Martínez . . . . . . . .. . . . 45 years old
32- Rosa María Alcal de Puig . . . … . . . . . . . . . . . 47 years old
33- Estrella Suárez Esquivel . … . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 years old
34- Reynaldo Joaquín Marrero Alamo … . . . . . .. . . . . .48 years old
35- Amado González Raíces . . . . . …. . . . . . . . . . . 50 years old
36- Fidencio Ramel Prieto Hernández . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 years old
37- Manuel Cayol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 years old
These lives, of course, do NOT matter–and I’m not just talking about Castro, Inc. The fact a horrific crime like this was never even remotely given its due weight and importance by the usual suspects says and explains a great deal. Just compare how said suspects treated the Elián incident, not because they cared about Elián, but because they cared about sticking it to “those people.” Talk about perverse pieces of shit.