Cuba Archive - Case 3469

Case ID: 3469

Title: N/A

First name: Margarito

Last name: Lanza Flores

Suffix: N/A

Aliases: Tondike , Thorndike

Name also reported as: Margarito Laura Flores, Margarito Lanzs Flores

Age: 23

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: N/A

Civil Status: Unknown

Date of death/disappearance: Day:2 / Month:3 / Year:1962

Citizenship: N/A

Last known address: Suri

Last known city: Quemado de Güines

Last known province-TOD: Las Villas

Last known province current: Villa Clara

Last known country: Cuba

Location death-address: Puente Rodrigo (between Corralillo and Palma Sola)

Location of death - city: Quemado de Güines

Location of death province - at TOD: Las Villas

Location of death province - current: Villa Clara

Location of death - country: Cuba

Trial held?: N/A

Docket Number: N/A

Sentence details: N/A

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: Anti-Castro insurgency - Escambray uprising

Case description:

Legendary Afro-Cuban guerrilla rebel leader operating in Northern Las Villas province from Manuel to Sagua La Grande. Captured with first degree burns after the sugarcane field in which he and some of his troops were hiding was set on fire by Castro forces, his fellow comrades had been killed in the fire.  He was subjected to intense interrogation without receiving pain medication for his burns. Refusing to cooperate, Captain Victor Dreke, who was also Afro-Cuban, threatened him with immediate execution.  Smiling, Tondike looked him in the eye and responded: "Don't worry, this Black Cuban knows how to behave like a man. Do what you want." He was then executed by firing squad.
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Legendario líder rebelde guerrillero afrocubano que operaba en la parte Norte de la  provincia de Las Villas, desde Manuel hasta Sagua La Grande. Capturado con quemaduras de primer grado después de que las fuerzas de Castro incendiaron el campo de caña de azúcar en el que él y algunas de sus tropas se escondían, sus compañeros habían muerto en el incendio. Fue sometido a un intenso interrogatorio sin recibir medicación para el dolor por sus quemaduras. Negándose a cooperar, el capitán Victor Dreke, que también era afrocubano, lo amenazó con la ejecución inmediata. Sonriendo, Tondike lo miró a los ojos y respondió: "No te preocupes, este cubano negro sabe cómo comportarse como un hombre. Haz lo que quieras". Luego fue ejecutado por un pelotón de fusilamiento.

Sources: Conflict of Evidence:

Written testimony of fellow guerrilla reports his execution on December 29, 1961.  Written testimony of friend reports him as dying in 1964 in Santa Clara.  Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil, 1965, p. 25, reports him assassinated in Las Villas province.  WAQI-Radio Mambí, p. 101, reports him executed by firing squad on 12/28/1962.  New York Times, 5 January 1962, p. 3, column 6, reports him executed by firing squad in January 1962.  E. Ros, El clandestinaje, 2006, p. 286, reports the victim as Margarito Lanzs Flores, alias Thorndike, executed by firing squad in 1962 after being taken prisoner in Quemado de Güines, province of Las Villas (now Villa Clara), and given a summary trial. T. Rodriguez Oltsman reports the date of execution as March 2, 1962.  Cuban American National Foundation, Quilt of Fidel Castro's Genocide, 1994, reports a Margarito Lopez Flores, killed by police in 1962.  Unión de Expresos Políticos Cubanos, Efemérides en la lucha del pueblo cubano contra el Comunismo, reports him executed on Dec. 28, 1959.

Violation Status: Confirmed with primary source(s)

Cause of Death: - Execution: by firing squad

Occupations: - Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations

External Files: N/A

Relatives in Archive: N/A

Victim Type: - Anti-Castro insurgent or resistance member

Affiliations: N/A

Other Victims Same Event: N/A

Case Record - Margarito Lanza Flores