Cuba Archive - Case 8956

Case ID: 8956

Title: N/A

First name: Juan

Last name: Pérez Cabrera

Suffix: N/A

Aliases: Coto

Name also reported as: N/A

Age: 36

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: N/A

Civil Status: Unknown

Date of death/disappearance: Day:15 / Month:4 / Year:1963

Citizenship: Cuba

Last known address: Andrés Puente #26

Last known city: Santiago de Cuba

Last known province-TOD: Oriente

Last known province current: Santiago de Cuba

Last known country: Cuba

Location death-address: Laboratory of Boniato prison

Location of death - city: N/A

Location of death province - at TOD: N/A

Location of death province - current: N/A

Location of death - country: Cuba

Trial held?: Yes

Docket Number: N/A

Sentence details: Capital punishment

Arrest or detention at time of death: Yes

Date of arrest: N/A

Imprisoned/Detained: Location: Near Guantánamo

How long imprisoned/detained: N/A

Death attributed to: Castro regime

Death attribution detail: N/A

Associated Event: Anti-Castro insurgency/resistance

Case description:

. Juan lived in Camagüey and had been the leader of an anti-Castro guerrilla group. He had hidden in his brother's house with a companion and they were there for eight months, because they feared for their lives. When they found out that a neighbor was going to inform the police, Juan's brother took them to Guantánamo to try to enter the United States naval base and ask for asylum. They captured them on the road, his friend was shot dead, and Juan's face was rubbed in the blood of his friend. The friend's name is unknown; he was only 18 years old and was from Bayamo, 'Andrés' was his nom de guerre in the resistance, and it is known that his last name was Rodríguez. Juan's brother managed to escape but was later captured in Bayamo. He was sentenced to prison, tortured (he almost lost his sight), and ended up serving five years in prison. Juan was tortured during the three months that he was imprisoned before he was executed. When the family visited him, he was in terrible condition. When they took him to be executed, they shot him in the forehead when he refused to have his blood drained. Cuba used to extract the blood of those condemned to death before shooting them and sold it to other countries for hard currency. They carried the practically fainted prisoners to the wall. Juan left a wife and four children.
==========================================================
Juan vivía en Camagüey y había sido líder de un grupo guerrillero anticastrista. Se había escondido en casa de su hermano con un compañero y estuvieron allí ocultos ocho meses, pues temían por sus vidas. Cuando se enteraron que una vecina los iba a delatar, el hermano de Juan los llevó para Guantánamo para intentar entrar en la base naval de Estados Unidos y pedir asilo.  Los capturaron en el camino, el amigo murió baleado y a Juan le restregaron la cara en la sangre de su amigo. El nombre del amigo se desconoce; tenía solo 18 años y era de Bayamo, ‘Andrés’ era su nombre de guerra en la resistencia y se sabe que su apellido era Rodríguez. El hermano de Juan logró escapar, pero luego lo capturaron en Bayamo. Fue sentenciado a prisión, torturado (casi pierde la vista) y terminó sirviendo cinco años de prisión. Juan fue torturado durante los tres meses que estuvo preso antes que lo ejecutaran. Cuando la familia lo visitó, estaba en unas condiciones terribles. Al llevarlo a fusilar, lo asesinaron de un tiro en la frente cuando se rehusó a que le drenaran la sangre. Cuba acostumbraba extraer la sangre a los condenados a muerte antes de fusilarlos y la vendía a otros países por moneda dura. Llevaban al paredón a los presos prácticamente desvanecidos. Juan dejó una esposa y cuatro hijos.

Sources: Conflict of Evidence:

Violation Status: Confirmed with primary source(s)

Cause of Death: - Execution: with prior blood extraction

Occupations: - N/A

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 - Juan Pérez Cabrera