Cuba Archive - Case 5763

Case ID: 5763

Title: Captain

First name: José Ramón

Last name: Martínez Díaz

Suffix: N/A

Aliases: N/A

Name also reported as: N/A

Age: 39

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: Day:28 / Month:7 / Year:1925

Civil Status: Married

Date of death/disappearance: Day:17 / Month:5 / Year:1965

Citizenship: Cuba

Last known address: Goicuria 161, e/ Estrada Palma y Libertad, La Vibora

Last known city: La Habana

Last known province-TOD: La Habana

Last known province current: Ciudad de La Habana

Last known country: Cuba

Location death-address: State Security office, El Vedado

Location of death - city: La Habana

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: Yes

Date of arrest: Day:6 / Month:1 / Year:1965

Imprisoned/Detained: Location: State Security office, Vedado, La Habana

How long imprisoned/detained: 5 months

Death attributed to: Castro regime

Death attribution detail: N/A

Associated Event: N/A

Case description:

Former career naval officer (had studied in the U.S.) and captain of the submarine Siboney at the triumph of the revolution. He then became a port pilot and was working at the port of Matanzas. Arrested without warning, he was accused of spying for the CIA and taken to the offices of State Security of the Vedado neighborhood of Havana. His family was able to visit him there once a week. Five months into his detention, they arrived for the weekly visit and were told they could not see him. The following day, a State Security officer went to their home and informed them he had been executed after a quick trial the previous night. They were not allowed to see the body, he had already been buried at Colon Cemetery in Havana. A few years later, a fellow prisoner who had been recently released went looking for the family to tell them what had really happened. He related how Capt. Martinez was being tortured during an interrogation and died as as result. He left a wife, a 15 year-old daughter and a 2 year-old son. They went into exile to the U.S. in 1968.
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Ex oficial naval de carrera (había estudiado en Estados Unidos) y capitán del submarino Siboney cuando el triunfo de la revolución. Luego se convirtió en piloto de puerto y estaba trabajando en el puerto de Matanzas. Detenido sin previo aviso, fue acusado de espionaje para la CIA y llevado a las oficinas de Seguridad del Estado del Vedado en La Habana. Su familia pudo visitarlo allí una vez a la semana. Cinco meses después de su detención, llegaron para la visita semanal y les dijeron que no podían verlo. Al día siguiente, un agente de la Seguridad del Estado fue a su domicilio y les informó que lo habían ejecutado tras un juicio rápido la noche anterior. No se les permitió ver el cuerpo, que ya había sido enterrado en el Cementerio Colón de La Habana. Unos años más tarde, un compañero de prisión que había sido liberado recientemente fue a buscar a la familia para contarles lo que realmente había sucedido. Relató cómo el capitán Martínez estaba siendo torturado durante un interrogatorio y murió como consecuencia de ello. Dejó esposa, una hija de 15 años y un hijo de 2 años, que luego se exiliaron a Estados Unidos en 1968.

Sources: Conflict of Evidence:

Violation Status: Confirmed with primary source(s)

Cause of Death: - Extrajudicial killing

Occupations: - Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations

External Files: N/A

Relatives in Archive: N/A

Victim Type: - Prisoner / Detainee: Political cause

Affiliations: N/A

Other Victims Same Event: N/A

Case Record - José Ramón Martínez Díaz