Cuba Archive - Case 2205

Case ID: 2205

Title: N/A

First name: Raimundo Emeterio

Last name: López Silvero

Suffix: N/A

Aliases: Frank

Name also reported as: Raimundo Emerito López Silveira, Raymundo Emerito López Silvera, Raimundo López Silveira, Raimundo E. López-Silvero, Raimundo Silvera, Raimundo Silvero, Raimundo Silveira

Age: N/A

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: N/A

Civil Status: Unknown

Date of death/disappearance: Day:10 / Month:3 / Year:1961

Citizenship: N/A

Last known address: N/A

Last known city: N/A

Last known province-TOD: Oriente

Last known province current: N/A

Last known country: Cuba

Location death-address: Boniato Prison

Location of death - city: Santiago de Cuba

Location of death province - at TOD: Oriente

Location of death province - current: Santiago de Cuba

Location of death - country: Cuba

Trial held?: Yes

Docket Number: 135 of 1961

Sentence details: Capital punishment

Arrest or detention at time of death: Yes

Date of arrest: N/A

Imprisoned/Detained: Location: N/A

How long imprisoned/detained: N/A

Death attributed to: Castro regime

Death attribution detail: N/A

Associated Event: N/A

Case description:

Former officer in Castro's Rebel Army executed for a crime he did not commit.  By 1961 López Silvero had joined the anti-Castro underground resistance group "Movimiento 30 de Noviembre" and was seen by his cousin, a member of Castro's militias, hiding arms and ammunition. Afraid of being denounced to the  authorities, López-Silvero shot and wounded his cousin. He was arrested and brought to trial, the prosecutor demanding the death penalty for the "murder" of his surviving cousin. López Silvero and his attorney protested that the cousin was alive and, if that were not the case, for the body of the "deceased" to be presented as evidence (i.e. the "corpus delicti" rule of evidence in Penal Law). Of course, there was no dead body. Still, the Revolutionary Tribunal found López-Silvero guilty as charged.  He was charged with endangering the stability and security of the state and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit.  His body was later thrown into the deep Bartlett trench in the Caribbean Sea south of Santiago de Cuba.
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Ex oficial del Ejército Rebelde de Castro ejecutado por un delito que no cometió. En 1961 López Silvero se había unido al grupo de resistencia clandestina anticastrista "Movimiento 30 de Noviembre" y fue visto por su primo, un miembro de las milicias de Castro, cuando estaba escondiendo armas y municiones. Temiendo ser denunciado a las autoridades, López-Silvero disparó e hirió a su primo. Fue arrestado y llevado a juicio, el fiscal exigió la pena de muerte por el "asesinato" de su primo sobreviviente. López Silvero y su abogado protestaron que el primo estaba vivo y, de no ser así, que presentaran el cuerpo del "fallecido" como prueba (es decir, la regla de prueba del "corpus delicti" en el derecho penal). Por supuesto, no había ningún cadáver. Aún así, el Tribunal Revolucionario declaró culpable a López-Silvero de los cargos. Fue acusado de poner en peligro la estabilidad y la seguridad del estado y condenado a muerte por un delito que no cometió. Más tarde, su cuerpo fue arrojado a la profunda trinchera de Bartlett en el Mar Caribe al sur de Santiago de Cuba. 
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Sources: Conflict of Evidence:

Violation Status: Reported: Highly likely / Highly reliable source(s)

Cause of Death: - Execution: by firing squad

Occupations: - Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations - Military Specific Occupations

External Files: N/A

Relatives in Archive: N/A

Victim Type: - Armed Forces: Rebel Army (pre 1/1/1959)

Affiliations: - Movimento 30 de noviembre - Former member of Castro Rebel Army

Other Victims Same Event: N/A

Case Record - Raimundo Emeterio López Silvero