Cuba Archive - Case 329

Case ID: 329

Title: N/A

First name: Benito Eligio E.

Last name: Cortés Maldonado

Suffix: N/A

Aliases: N/A

Name also reported as: Benito Cortez Maldonado

Age: 39

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: Day:21 / Month:3 / Year:1919

Civil Status: Married

Date of death/disappearance: Day:12 / Month:1 / Year:1959

Citizenship: United States

Last known address: Reparto Agüero

Last known city: Palma Soriano

Last known province-TOD: Oriente

Last known province current: Santiago de Cuba

Last known country: Cuba

Location death-address: San Juan HIll

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?: N/A

Docket Number: N/A

Sentence details: N/A

Arrest or detention at time of death: N/A

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: 1959 San Juan Hill Massacre

Case description:

A policeman and pilot who left a widow and five children, he was the first U.S. citizen known to have been executed after the triumph of the Revolution. He was executed by order of Raúl Castro with 70 other men belonging to the armed forces, police, and Batista supporters. The night of January 11th and into the next morning, seventy-one men were lined up in pairs in front of ditches and shot by firing squad. The mass graves were then filled with a bulldozer, according to witness reports, some were buried still alive. In September 1963, torrential rains from Hurricane Flora unearthed the bodies from their shallow grave and they were thrown in cement casings into the Bartlett Deep, off the coast of Oriente province. 
Benito's mother and father were from Puerto Rico. The family was well off and his father decided to extend his enterprises to Cuba.  Benito left with his father for Cuba to establish businesses there. They did very well, owned three coffee plantations and their own private plane.  Benito loved the police force and when he came of age, decided to join. He married a Cuban woman and had five children, living with his family in Palma Soriano, near Santiago de Cuba. He served under General Batista after he became a dictator, but his family says he was a good and respected man who harmed no one. On January 1, 1959, when Batista fled and the revolutionaries came to power, a fellow policeman had gone into hiding and asked him to join in. He had declined, saying he was well known and regarded, had always done his duty, never committed any crimes, and had nothing to fear. But, he was detained and on January 11th taken to Santiago, falsely accused of raping a woman and sentenced to death.  A witness, someone who participated in the mass execution but later turned against the government, told the family he had fallen down, shot in the leg. A lieutenant walked over and shot him in the head.
 (See Case profile on this website.)
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 Benito era policía y piloto y fue el primer ciudadano estadounidense que se supo había sido ejecutado después del triunfo de la Revolución. Fue ejecutado por orden de Raúl Castro con otros 70 hombres pertenecientes a las fuerzas armadas, la policía y partidarios de Batista. La noche del 11 de enero y hasta la mañana siguiente, setenta y un hombres fueron alineados en pares frente a zanjas y fusilados por un pelotón de fusilamiento. Las fosas comunes fueron rellenadas por una excavadora, testigos informaron que algunos fueron enterrados vivos. En septiembre de 1963, las lluvias torrenciales del huracán Flora desenterraron los cuerpos y luego fueron arrojados en cajas de cemento en la Fosa Bartlett, frente a la costa de la provincia de Oriente. Los padres de Benito eran de Puerto Rico. La familia tenía negocios propios y su padre decidió extender sus empresas a Cuba. Benito se fue con su padre a Cuba. Les fue muy bien, poseían tres plantaciones de café y su propio avión privado. Benito amaba a la fuerza policial y cuando cumplió la mayoría de edad, decidió unirse. Se casó con una cubana y tuvo cinco hijos, viviendo con su familia en Palma Soriano, cerca de Santiago de Cuba. Sirvió bajo el gobierno de Batista, pero su familia dice que era un hombre bueno y respetado que no lastimó a nadie. El 1 de enero de 1959, cuando Batista huyó y los revolucionarios llegaron al poder, un compañero policía que se había escondido le sugirió que lo acompañara. Se negó, diciendo que era bien conocido y respetado ya que siempre había cumplido con su deber, nunca había cometido crímenes, y no tenía nada que temer. Pero, fue detenido y llevado el 11 de enero a Santiago, falsamente acusado de violar a una mujer y sentenciado a muerte. Un testigo, alguien que participó en la ejecución masiva pero que más tarde se volvió contra el gobierno, le dijo a la familia que se había caído cuando le dispararon en la pierna. Un teniente se acercó y le disparó en la cabeza.

Sources: Conflict of Evidence:

Violation Status: Confirmed with primary source(s)

Cause of Death: - Execution: by firing squad

Occupations: - Protective Service Occupations - Transportation and Material Moving 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: N/A

Case Record - Benito Eligio E. Cortés Maldonado