The president of Brigade 2506, Felix Rodríguez (c), speaks during the commemoration in Miami, Florida (USA), of the 50th anniversary of the operation in Cochinos Bay.
"In memory of the nine martyrs of the Death Trail."
Cuba. 4-22-61
This 55th anniversary , more than the commemoration of a military action against a dictatorship, evokes the realization of a commitment of hundreds of Cubans who left their country to enlist in a mission in which they risked their lives, with the sole ambition of overthrowing a regime contrary to the democratic convictions that encouraged them.
They did not seek a better life, they did not seek economic improvements or the enjoyment of lost freedoms on foreign soil. They traveled to prepare themselves militarily, as did others before and after, who only left the Cuban coast to return to them fighting the dictatorship .
From 2506 much has been written, there have been documentaries and brainy analysts of different nationalities and political ideas have drawn their conclusions. But this note has only one objective, to highlight the courage and sense of duty of the men who left studies, family and work, to fulfill their obligations.
They arrived in the United States in different ways and moments. They were willing to fulfill the assignment that was most useful for the cause they raised and everyone, beyond former political militancies, accepted the challenge of joining in the action to be more effective in combat.
The vanguard left Miami for the island of Useppa and was trained in different disciplines.
Among them was Carlos Rodríguez Santana , "Carlay", who after fighting fiercely in hiding against the dictatorship, left Cuba to join the expedition and fight on the island, a dream truncated by his early death during training in the mountains of Guatemala , which motivated the Brigade to adopt its serial number as identification.
They were prepared in different countries and also in the United States. Civilians, for the most part, accepted military life . They lived the new order in the camps. They became paratroopers, frogs, tankers, marines, specialized in command actions that preceded the expedition and entered their country clandestinely .
Several were shot, including Manuel Blanco Navarro , and others served long years in prison, such as Emilio Martínez Venegas and Jorge Gutiérrez Izaguirre .
They manned planes to fight in the Cuban sky. Shot down over the sea as pilots José Crespo and Lorenzo Perez Lorenzo , or killed by enemy fire as the American Thomas W . Ray or the Cuban Osvaldo Piedra .
Without the resources to make war they were arrested. Some fell before the firing wall . Others died in the gulf. Nine died of suffocation in a dredge that Osmany Cienfuegos ordered to witness with the detainees.
Living the hard experience, the commitment to continue fighting was ratified and extended to combat castrocommunism anywhere in the world.
Idea that has nurtured many of them for years. Collaborating or working with US government agencies did not make them servers.
What they did was the result of an awareness that Castro's interests must be confronted where circumstances determine and in the confidence that the collaboration provided would be reciprocated by Washington, providing conditions and resources to face totalitarianism in their homeland.
Their association with the United States , a country that armed them, trained and facilitated resources for combat, was an alliance of mutual convenience that never affected their Cubanness, as true as that of the palms, very contrary to what Fidel and Raúl Castro did. that made Cuba the aircraft carrier of the Soviet Union in the hemisphere.
Roberto Pichardo, Juan Tamayo and Juan Carlos Perón, were some of the many brigade members who integrated the navy, infantry and air force units that fought in the Congo against the Castro gang led by Ernesto Guevara . In the African country the pilot Fausto Gómez died.
Brigade troops also joined the fight against the mercenaries that Castro sent to Angola . Pilots and infantry veterans trained troops from units of the National Liberation Front of Angola, a deed described in the Cuban book fighting communism in Africa .
In Vietnam , in the fight against communism, brigade members also participated, some lost their lives, including Irenaldo Padrón and Félix Sosa Camejo. Latin America was another scenario in which Cuban Democrats faced Castro subversion, there were, among others, Felix Rodriguez and Captain Eduardo Barea.
Those men became an ally, not a master, and although the laurels did not cover their foreheads, they did their duty , because they were always aware that if victory is important, it is much more important to honor the commitments.
Alfredo “Cuco” Cervantes, José Ignacio Macia, René Silva Soublete, José Millán, Santos Gil Ramos, Hermilio Quintana, Moisés Santana and José Vilarello.
THESE CUBANS DIED IN A CLOSED FLOAT IN THEIR TRANSPORTATION FROM GIRON,BAY OF PIGS TO HAVANA
His relatives, especially his children.
Just released the invading members of the 2506 Brigade, the journalist Benjamín de la Vega was given the task of interviewing the survivors of the Invasion who recently obtained freedom after almost two years of imprisonment in the Castroist PRISON CELLS.
With the cooperation of also Brigadista Edgar A. Fernández and other members of the 2506 Brigade who reported their experiences, the abuses that were committed in violation of international laws to prisoners of war, human rights and their families following the invasion were published from Bay of Pigs.
Entre los más brutales crímenes del régimen castrista está el cruel asesinato de prisioneros de la Brigada 2506, que murieron asfixiados en la rastra de la muerte
Sin el apoyo aéreo prometido, los bravos combatientes pelearon por tres días de tenacidad y coraje. La lucha fue especialmente cruenta en la rotonda de Palpite, en San Blas, en Soplillar en Girón y Playa Larga.
La mitad de los aviones B-26 de la Brigada fueron derribados por los cazas de la tiranía que controlaban el espacio aéreo. Mientras tuvieron municiones, la Brigada peleó con ejemplar heroísmo. Allí cayeron más de 100 soldados de la libertad.
Los sobrevivientes, muchos de ellos heridos y sin material bélico para continuar la lucha, quedaron como Prisioneros de Guerra. El día 22 de abril, en el área de Playa Girón, estos prisioneros, incluidos heridos fueron alineados frente a una rastra (remolque de un camión dedicado al transporte hermético) y ordenados a montar dicha rastra.
El prisionero Máximo Cruz, que se encontraba junto a la rastra herido, increpó al entonces capitán Osmani Cienfuegos (hermano de Camilo) diciéndole que los prisioneros morirían asfixiados con las puertas herméticamente cerradas. Osmani Cienfuegos contestó a pleno pulmón: “no importa de todas formas los vamos a fusilar y así nos ahorramos las balas”. Seguidamente ordenó “suban a este cochino a la rastra”.
Cuando cerraron la puerta más de 100 prisioneros, incluyendo numerosos heridos en combate, estaban atrapados, sin oxigeno en las entrañas de la desesperación y la brutal agonía. La orden había sido confirmada por Fidel Castro.
El viaje a La Habana duró ocho horas. En la rastra el aire comenzó a faltar, la oscuridad era total. Algunos prisioneros lograron perforar el costado con los metales de sus cinturones, haciendo pequeñas hendiduras, donde se turnaban para respirar. Sobre el piso se mezclaba sudor con desechos humanos. Cuando finalmente abrieron la puerta, nueve cadáveres evidenciaban el crimen de la tiranía. ¡Allí fueron asesinados! Pedro Rojas Mir, José Ignacio Macia del Monte, Alfredo Cervantes Lago, René Silva Soublete, José Vilarello Tabares, Hermilio Quintana Pareda, José Sántos Millán, Moisés Santana González y Santos Ramos Álvarez.
Hoy honramos la memoria de los héroes caídos en la desigual batalla y recordamos con sed de justicia los nueve mártires asesinados en la rastra de la muerte. Descansen en paz. The Cuban Studies Institute objectives are to preserve and disseminate the history and culture of Cuba.
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