Another Cuban tragedy from a list way too long that we must never forget.
Remembering the Rio Canimar Massacre, July 6, 1980
Thirty-two years ago, on July 6, 1980, the Castro regime brutally attacked and murdered at least 56 people, including several children, on an excursion boat that had been hiacked by three teenagers who wanted to escape Cuba for the United States.
CubaArchive.org tells the story:
The Canimar is a scenic Cuban river that flows into Matanzas Bay, near Varadero beach. In 1960, a tourist excursion service wasinaugurated using a large boat, the “XX Aniversario,” with two decks of chairs and capacity for 100 passengers. It was to navigate for approximately 5 miles inland along the Canimar river.
On 6 July, 1980, the excursion boat was hijacked by three youngsters who wanted to take the boat to the United States -Ramón Calveiro Leon (15 years old at the time) and brothers Silvio Aguila Yanes (18 years old) and Sergio Aguila Yanes (19 years old). Sergio was a Sergeant in the Cuban Armed Forces (FAR). Another youngster involved in the plot, Humberto Martínez Echazabal (19 years old), reportedly never made it when the hijacking took place. Taking control of the vessel, the youngsters shouted: “To Miami!” amid screams of approval on the part of the 100 passengers aboard. The boat’s security guard resisted and shot at the youngsters, who wounded him with firearms they had brought aboard the boat. Concerned for his health, they placed him on a boat with a fisherman together with a passenger who wanted to leave and sent them back to shore. When they arrived, they alerted authorities. Meanwhile, the “XX Aniversario” had turned around and entered Matanzas Bay and headed out to open seas.
Continue reading HERE.