Cuba Archive - Case 317

Case ID: 317

Title: N/A

First name: Rafael

Last name: Gutiérrez Delgado

Suffix: N/A

Aliases: N/A

Name also reported as: N/A

Age: 41

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: N/A

Civil Status: Unknown

Date of death/disappearance: Month:11 / Year:2001

Citizenship: N/A

Last known address: N/A

Last known city: Campechuela

Last known province-TOD: Granma

Last known province current: Granma

Last known country: Cuba

Location death-address: N/A

Location of death - city: Campechuela

Location of death province - at TOD: Granma

Location of death province - current: Granma

Location of death - country: Cuba

Trial held?: No

Docket Number: N/A

Sentence details: N/A

Arrest or detention at time of death: Yes

Date of arrest: Month:11 / Year:2001

Imprisoned/Detained: Location: Arrested at home

How long imprisoned/detained: N/A

Death attributed to: Castro regime

Death attribution detail: Assitants to the Police Marciano and Cotitis

Associated Event: N/A

Case description:

Committed suicide when police agents surprised him at his home cooking beef, which was illegal in Cuba. As the police were arresting him, he ingested a poison used in crops to control  infestations, saying he would not go to prison for long years. He died instantly. 
At the time of this death, Cubas Penal Code criminalized possession of beef with long prison sentences. Beef could only be purchased with the state-issued ration book when it is available at subsidized prices two or three times a year. Hard currency stores sold beef at very high prices and it could also be found in the black market in Cuban pesos.
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Se suicidó cuando agentes de la policía lo sorprendieron cocinando carne de res casera, que era ilegal en Cuba. Mientras la policía lo arrestaba, ingirió un veneno que se usa en los cultivos para controlar las infestaciones, diciendo que no iría a prisión por largos años. Murió instantáneamente.
Al momento de esta muerte, el Código Penal de Cubas tipificaba como delito la posesión de carne vacuna con largas penas de prisión. La carne de res solo se puede comprar con la libreta de racionamiento emitida por el estado cuando está disponible a precios subsidiados dos o tres veces al año. Las tiendas de divisas vendían carne vacuna a precios muy altos y también se podía encontrar en el mercado negro en pesos cubanos.

Sources: Conflict of Evidence:

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

Cause of Death: - Suicide/Alleged Suicide

Occupations: - N/A

External Files: N/A

Relatives in Archive: N/A

Victim Type: - Other

Affiliations: N/A

Other Victims Same Event: N/A

Case Record - Rafael Gutiérrez Delgado