Cubans Pay Tribute to Victims of Barbados Crime

October 6, 2019

Cuba today pays tribute to the 73 victims of the terrorist attack committed 43 years ago against a Cubana de Aviación aircraft off the coast of Barbados, the perpetrators of which were never prosecuted for the crime.

In tribute to those who died in the terrorist action on October 6, 1976, authorities and are representatives of the Cuban people will march this Sunday on a pilgrimage to the Cemetery of Colon in the capital, as is customary on the island on the anniversary of the tragedy.

In social networks, Internet users of in Cuba reiterated their denunciations about the complicity of the U.S. government and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with the perpetrators of the attack.

Under the hastags #TenemosMemoria (#We have memory) #6DeOctubre, (#October 6) #Cuba (#Cuba) and #ProhibidoOlvidar (#Forbidden to forget), among others, Twitter users stated that the families of the 73 deceased still demand justice for the 57 Cubans, 11 Guyanese and five Koreans who perished.

The Barbados crime, as the bombing of the flight  of the CU-455 aircraft is known, is so far considered the worst attack of its kind in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most brutal acts of terrorism carried out against the Cuban Revolution by people in the service of the CIA.

According to investigations, it was orchestrated in Venezuela by Cuban-born terrorists Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch, who used Venezuelans Hernán Ricardo and Freddy Lugo to place the bombs inside the plane.

Ricardo and Lugo were sentenced to 20 years in prison, while Bosch was briefly acquitted on technical grounds and Posada Carriles was in prison for eight years but managed to escape with the support of prison guards.

Subsequently, Posada Carriles and Bosch found refuge in Miami, where they continued with impunity to plan violent and destabilizing actions against Cuba until their death.

Source: Cubadebate, translation Resumen Latinoamericano, North America bureau