Vea abajo la versión en español.Stolen lives of CubansCuba Archive documents and reports on the cost in lives of the Cuban Revolution over two dictatorships since 1952, Batista and Castro, and all sides of the political spectrum. It illustrates the pressing need for Cubans to enjoy a democracy under the rule of law that protects all their fundamental rights.
It’s not about numbers!We are frequently asked about “the numbers.” To date, our
database of documented cases of death and disappearance has 11,303 cases. However, this work in progress is not about numbers, it’s about people, real human beings whose lives were stolen prematurely by political violence, directly or indirectly. Those losses, unjust and often savage, have impacted many more people: family, friends, neighbors, peers, etc., and reverberated through all of society.
Select video testimony: it’s about real peopleSee two very short video testimonies of young men executed by the Castro regime. To date, we have documented 3,045 such executions. This is from a recent series of five filmed testimonies that profiles victims from different times, locations, and circumstances. They offer a personal glimpse into the stolen lives by a regime in power and still committing these abuses. An
update of this work in progress to 12/31/2019 reveals the myriad causes of these deaths and disappearances that stretch over six decades and, tragically, continue.
Marta González remembers her cousin Gerardo Fundora, executed October 22, 1960 at the Limonar Shooting Field of Las Villas Gerardo Fundora Nuñez was 32 years old, married and the father of three sons. He worked at the textile mill Rayonera of Matanzas, He had been a labor leader, Secretary General of the Union of Textile Workers of Matanzas, and anti-Batista insurgent who had been exiled in Mexico with the Castro brothers planning to invade Cuba. After the revolution came to power on Jan. 1, 1959 and was taken over by a small radical group led by the Castro brothers, he formed a small resistance group in Palenque, Matanzas. Captured with other members of his group, he was tortured at the San Severino Castle
prison and executed very soon thereafter without a trial. According to his family, he was falsely accused of the shooting of a little girl in the countryside for which government militias had been responsible. The day of Gerardo's execution, they paraded him around the city of Matanzas in a van to instill fear of resisting the government. He was denied a visit from a priest before his execution and was taken to a shooting field around 5AM in the same vehicle as the casket for his body. Gerardo courageously refused to cover his eyes before the firing squad. The family was denied the body but found out where he had been buried and went with flowers to pay him tribute. Captured members of his resistance group were sentenced to thirty years of prison.
Araenis León Ruíz talks about his uncle Angel Moisés Ruiz Ramos, executed December 1, 1961 at the Agramonte Cemetery of Matanzas Angel went by his second name, Moisés, and was 24 years old. He came from a humble family and worked in agriculture. He was a leader of the clandestine anti-Castro resistance in the province of
Matanzas and was betrayed by a friend. In the middle of the night, government agents wearing masks took him from his home, where he lived with his parents. The following day, the family learned that he had been executed that same night without a prior trial together with three fellow resistance members, the brothers Bernardo and Orlando Barrabí, and Orlando Rodríguez Álvarez. They were buried in a common grave at the cemetery where they had been shot. Prior to their execution, that was announced in the official press, their blood had been forcefully extracted, as Cuba was selling blood products in world markets. The family tried unsuccessfully to obtain a death certificate.
Also in this video seriesSee two videos previously released of five recent interviews (one more is coming soon):
For more detailsSee more testimony in podcasts and videos on our
website.
Search the
database for any individual or all documented cases that meet a diverse selection of criteria.
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If you have first-hand information, photos, or documents on any case of death/disappearance, new or already on the database, please fill out a
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info@CubaArchive.org.
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