Cuba Archive - Case 289

Case ID: 289

Title: N/A

First name: Rafael

Last name: Guevara Borges

Suffix: N/A

Aliases: N/A

Name also reported as: N/A

Age: 29

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: Day:23 / Month:8 / Year:1962

Civil Status: Unknown

Date of death/disappearance: Day:9 / Month:1 / Year:1992

Citizenship: N/A

Last known address: N/A

Last known city: N/A

Last known province-TOD: N/A

Last known province current: N/A

Last known country: Cuba

Location death-address: Tarará former nautical club

Location of death - city: N/A

Location of death province - at TOD: La Habana

Location of death province - current: La Habana

Location of death - country: Cuba

Trial held?: No

Docket Number: N/A

Sentence details: N/A

Arrest or detention at time of death: No

Date of arrest: N/A

Imprisoned/Detained: Location: N/A

How long imprisoned/detained: N/A

Death attributed to: Other

Death attribution detail: N/A

Associated Event: N/A

Case description:

He was guarding the nautical facility at Tarará, Havana province, with another guard, when they were surprised and tied up by a group of hijackers who had planned to take a vessel to escape Cuba with a group that included women and children.  According to the official version by the Cuban government, the vessel failed to start due to a faulty battery and the guards were shot as well as policeman Rolando Pérez Quintosa, who had arrived on the scene and died around a month later from his wounds. The hijackers, Luis Miguel Almeida, who was a guard at the facility, and René Salmerón, a co-conspirator, were captured 48 hours later and sentenced to death. The other hijackers received long prison sentences. Elías Pérez Bocourt, a 22 year-old neighbor who had been invited to join the group to help carry the 27 containers of gasoline needed for the journey, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He suffered extensive abuse in prison and an initial eight years of solitary confinement at Kilo 8 Prison in Camagüey. He was freed July 16, 2019 after 27 years in prison, during which he consistently claimed his innocence.
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Estaba de guardia con un compañero custodiado la instalación náutica del Campamento de Pioneros José Martí, en Tarará, provincia de La Habana, cuando fueron sorprendidos y atados por un grupo que incluía mujeres y niños y pretendía dos personas que querían escapar de Cuba. No pudieron arrancar por estar la batería defectuosa y, según la versión oficial del gobierno cubano, los secuestradores dispararon a los guardias atados así como a un policía, Rolando Pérez Quintosa, y había acudido al lugar y falleció alrededor de un mes después de sus heridas. Luis Miguel Almeida, quien también era guardia en las instalaciones, y René Salmerón, su co-conspirador, fueron capturados 48 horas más tarde y condenados a muerte. El resto del grupo recibió largas penas de prisión. Elías Pérez Bocourt, un vecino de 22 años, que había sido invitado a unirse al grupo para ayudar a transportar los 27 contenedores de gasolina necesarios para el viaje, fue condenado a 30 años de prisión. Sufrió muchos abusos en prisión e inicialmente cumplió ocho años en régimen de aislamiento en la prisión Kilo 8 de Camagüey. Fue liberado el 16 de julio de 2019 después de 27 años en prisión, durante los cuales siempre afirmó su inocencia.

Sources: Conflict of Evidence:

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

Cause of Death: - Politically-motivated killing by non-state agent(s)

Occupations: - Military Specific Occupations

External Files: N/A

Relatives in Archive: N/A

Victim Type: - Government official (civilian, police, State Security, etc.)

Affiliations: N/A

Other Victims Same Event: - Case 978: Rolando Pérez Quintosa - Case 493: Orosmán Dueñas Valero - Case 889: Yuri Gómez Reinoso

Case Record - Rafael Guevara Borges