Cuba Archive - Case 2961

Case ID: 2961

Title: N/A

First name: Arnaldo

Last name: Socorro Sánchez

Suffix: N/A

Aliases: N/A

Name also reported as: Armando Socorro

Age: 20

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: Day:20 / Month:5 / Year:1941

Civil Status: Unknown

Date of death/disappearance: Day:10 / Month:9 / Year:1961

Citizenship: N/A

Last known address: N/A

Last known city: Unión de Reyes

Last known province-TOD: Matanzas

Last known province current: Matanzas

Last known country: Cuba

Location death-address: Salud & Manrique Streets near the Church El Calvario, Havana

Location of death - city: Havana

Location of death province - at TOD: La Habana

Location of death province - current: Ciudad de 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: Castro regime

Death attribution detail: Revolutionary militia

Associated Event: N/A

Case description:

Young man from a  humble home in Matanzas who was studying in Havana with a scholarship at the Belen catholic school. He was shot in the back by a militiaman (with a machine gun) while carrying an image of Our Lady of Charity  (Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre) during a Catholic religious procession on a Sunday that departed from Havana's Caridad church. The police attacked the group with batons and blows and opened fired indiscriminately after some of the participants yelled "No to Communism." At least ten participants bad bullet injuries. The Castro government distorted the facts and accused the priests of causing the violence. It used the incident as grounds to expel Monsignor Eduardo Boza Masvidal, auxiliary Bishop of Havana, who went into exile in Venezuela, where he died many years later. 
On September 24, 2006, Monsignor Agustín Román unveiled a plaque in Arnaldo's memory at the Corpus Christi church of Miami (32St. and 7th Ave NW).
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Joven que pertenecía a una humilde familia de Matanzas y estudiaba en La Habana con una beca en la escuela católica de Belén. Le dispararon en la espalda mientras llevaba una imagen de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre durante una procesión religiosa católica que partía de la iglesia de La Caridad de La Habana. La policía atacó al grupo con porras y golpes y abrió fuego indiscriminadamente después de que algunos de los participantes gritaban "No al comunismo". Hubo al menos diez heridos de balas. El gobierno de Castro tergiversó los hechos y acusó a "curas falangistas" de haber matado a Socorro  y expuló a  Monseñor Eduardo Boza Masvidal, obispo auxiliar de La Habana, quien se exilió en Venezuela, donde murió muchos años después.
El 24 de septiembre de 2006, Monseñor Agustín Román develó una placa en la memoria de Arnaldo en la iglesia Corpus Christi de Miami (32 St. y 7th Ave NW).

Sources: Conflict of Evidence:

Violation Status: Confirmed with primary source(s)

Cause of Death: - Extrajudicial killing

Occupations: N/A

External Files: N/A

Relatives in Archive: N/A

Victim Type: - Political opponent or dissident: no known membership in a group

Affiliations: - Catholic Youth labor group Juventud Obrera Catolica (JOC)

Other Victims Same Event: N/A

Case Record - Arnaldo Socorro Sánchez