The Infamous Firing Squad

Thousands of Cubans have died in front of Castro's infamous firing squad. There was no discrimination, as far as the firing squad was concerned. Young and old, black and white, rich and poor were sent to 'el paredón' (the wall).

Many of those who helped Castro gain power, like Comandantes Ernesto Sori Marin and William Morgan, an American, were among the thousands who were shot.

Click here to see a video of the firing squad murder of Col. Cornelio Rojas

Click here to see a video of one of the thousands of Cubans who lost their lives in front of Castro's firing squad.

See how they were shot and their bodies fell inside huge craters that were dug in advance to hold   dozens of bodies.

According to TIME magazine, during the first four months of 1959, a total of 521 Cubans were shot at "el paredón"

Cuba 1959: Death Row, a book by Javier Arzuaga who was the chaplain at La Cabaña

Javier Arzuaga, who was the chaplain at La Cabaña prison in early 1959 when the criminal che Guevara murdered close to two hundred innocent Cubans, has written a book titled Cuba 1959: La Galera de la Muerte (Cuba 1959: Death Row).

Arzuaga, who gave comfort to the prisoners who were sentenced to die in front of the firing squad, was the one who had to choose the order in which the prisoners were going to be shot each night. He always left those who were stronger and better prepared to die for the end, in order for them to give support to their fellow prisoners who were not as a strong.

A former Catholic priest, now 75, he recalls that Guevara “never overturned a sentence.” “…there were about eight hundred prisoners in a space fit for no more than three hundred: former Batista military and police personnel, some journalists, a few businessmen and merchants. The revolutionary tribunal was made of militiamen. Che Guevara presided over the appellate court. He never overturned a sentence. I would visit those on death row at the "galera de la muerte". A rumor went around that I hypnotized prisoners because many remained calm, so Che ordered that I be present at the executions. I pleaded many times with Che on behalf of prisoners. I remember especially the case of Ariel Lima, a young boy who was only 16 years old. Che did not budge. I became so traumatized that at the end of May 1959 I was ordered to leave the parish of Casa Blanca, where La Cabaña was located and where I had held Mass for three years. I went to Mexico for treatment. The day I left, Che told me we had both tried to bring one another to each other’s side and had failed. His last words were: “When we take our masks off, we will be enemies.”

Click here to read the transcript of a radio interview with Javier Arzuaga (In Spanish)

Here are some of the gruesome photos.

Fidel Castro questioning a Cuban farmer who was later executed. The woman behind Castro is Celia Sánchez and sitting next to him is Camilo Cienfuegos.

Even before the triumph of the Revolution, Castro and his gang were prone to murder those who disagreed with them. In the photo below, taken while still in the Sierra Maestra mountains, Fidel Castro's brother, Raul, is seen getting ready to shoot a young rebel soldier who disobeyed orders.

And more than forty -eight years after the above photo was taken, Castro and his gang of murderers continue to send to the firing squad, those Cubans who oppose his betrayal of the Revolution.

The three photos above show two prisoners being shot by Castro's rebel forces in the Sierra Maestra mountains.

Castro's reign of brutality began over 50 years ago, and it still continues today.

Priests Juan Miguel Aldaz and Jose Luis Garrigoitia,  pray with prisoner Ramon Reytor, minutes before he was executed in Manzanillo.

Fathers Aldaz and Garrigoitia with the prisoners moments before they were murdered

Col. Cornelio Rojas, chief of police of Santa

Clara, is shown here in a jail cell before

Che Guevara ordered him to be shot to death

without a trial.

Col. Cornelio Rojas, when he was an officer of the Cuban National police

The photos above show the brutal murder of Col. Rojas, who was shot to death on orders of Guevara, without the benefit of a trial.

Here is what Barbara Rangel, granddaughter of Col. Rojas, told us after seeing the photos of her murdered grandfather:

"My name is Barbara Rangel, and I have just entered your web site to view the pictures of the damages caused by Hurricane Dennis, and I clicked on the "firing Squad" and tears rolled down my cheeks as I see my grandfather being killed in the firing squad on January 8, 1959 when the assassin Fidel Castro took over that same day.  My grandfather was Col. Cornelio Rojas he was chief of Police in Santa Clara and he was a very brave man, as he was walking towards the firing squad he did not want to be blindfolded, and gave out the orders,  he was asked if he had anything to say and these were his last words "Ahi tienen la revolucion no la pierdan" There you have the revolution don't lose it.  Fidel Castro committed this horrific crime to show the people what was coming.  Just because my grandfather was a Colonel and Chief of Police for the previous government he was murdered.  My grandfather's human rights were violated and was denied a trial.  To date,  we do not know where Fidel buried my grandfather.  I have written letters to the Human Rights in Geneva and to other organizations, but nothing has been done, but I will continue to do whatever I can to see justice done one day.  After Fidel televised this horrific firing squad and terrified so many people, he has never televised another firing squad. But we all know that he continues to kill whomever he wishes. Any way, I though I share my grandfather's name and who he was. Also my grandfather was the son of a General Cornelio Rojas Escobar and his grandfather Coronel de Brigada Cornelio Rojas Hurtado who both fought in the war of our independence (Los Mambises). The worst hurricane Cuba has and has had for 46 years is Fidel Castro. One day he will have to set Cuba free!"

The Cuban Memorial displayed at Tamiami Park, Miami, Florida: Each cross bears the name of a victim of Castro's genocide against the Cuban people

Why is the entire World blind to a half century of Castro's Crimes?

Why is it that very few people seem to care about Castro's genocide against the Cuban people?