Cuba Archive - Case 1686

Case ID: 1686

Title: N/A

First name: Robert Otis

Last name: Fuller

Suffix: N/A

Aliases: Bobby

Name also reported as: Roberto Otis Fuller

Age: 25

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: Day:11 / Month:5 / Year:1935

Civil Status: Unknown

Date of death/disappearance: Day:16 / Month:10 / Year:1960

Citizenship: United States

Last known address: 1874 SW 12th St.

Last known city: Miami, Florida

Last known province-TOD: N/A

Last known province current: N/A

Last known country: United States

Location death-address: Army firing range, 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?: Yes

Docket Number: Causa 240/1960

Sentence details: Capital punishment

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 -1960 Navas Bay/Armentino Feria operation

Case description:

Executed at 4:30AM. Born in Holguin, Cuba, of U.S. parents who returned to the U.S. when he was a child. He was a U.S. resident and a Marine, veteran of the Korean War.  The Fuller family had arrived in Cuba in 1903 when Bobby Fuller's grandfather moved to the island; by the time of the Castro takeover, the family business included 4,000 acres, a sawmill, cattle, crops and a sugar cane business in Holguin, all of which Castro's government confiscated in 1959-1960.
Bobby vowed to help liberate Cuba from Communism and landed in Cuba n October 1960 at Navas Bay, near Moa, Oriente province, as part of a group of 28 men led by Armentino Feria to start a guerrilla operation. Feria died in combat on Oct. 6, 1960 and two men were reportedly captured, the rest escaped into the mountains. On Oct. 15th, Fuller, another American, and two Cuban nationals were captured and charged with counter-revolutionary activities.  By 4:00 P.M. that same day, Fuller and the three others were placed in a sham trial held in Santiago de Cuba, convicted within a few hours and followed by an immediate appeal that took less than fifteen minutes. The two Cuban nationals were sentenced to imprisonment and the two Americans were sentenced to death by firing squad. The death sentences were instantaneously imposed. The trial was held at a large stadium with thousands of people in attendance and cheering.  Just before Fuller was led to his execution, his uncle and cousin were allowed to see him. He was very weakened, barely able to stand, and he told them that his blood had been forcibly drained from his body.
The family presumed this was intended to make him look weak and cowardly, unaware that Cuba was exporting blood. His mother had gone earlier to bid him farewell at a Santiago prison. He was calm and as his mother sobbed he scribbled a note to his father: "Pop, I did my best. By the time you get this everything will be over. ...Keep the others calm. I love you forever." The U.S. filed a diplomatic note of protest which was rejected by the Castro government. Fuller was buried on Oct. 16th, 1960 in an unmarked grave at St. Ifigenia Cemetery, Santiago de Cuba (lot W, row 4, grave 25, top body). He left a daughter. Another American, Anthony Zarba, from the invading force was captured and also executed. The rest of the groups was mostly captured, some were executed. Cuban writer Norberto Fuentes recounts how in 1987 Fidel and Raúl Castro were gloating about having had four Americans executed. On February 2003, Fuller's widow and daughter won a default judgment against the Cuban government in a Florida Court under a cause of action based upon the Civil Liability for Acts of State Sponsored Terrorism of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991. 
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Nació en Holguín, Cuba, de padres estadounidenses que regresaron a los Estados Unidos cuando era un niño. Era residente de Estados Unidos y veterano de la Guerra de Corea. Su familia había llegado a Cuba en 1903 de EEUU y sus negocios le habían sido confisados en 1959-1960. Buscando liberar a Cuba del comunismo, Bobby desembarcó en la Bahía de Navas, cerca de Moa, provincia de Oriente, en octubre de 1960 parte de un grupo de 28 hombres liderados por Armentino Feria para iniciar una operación guerrillera. Feria murió en combate el 6 de octubre y dos de sus hombres fueron capturados. Luego, Fuller, otro estadounidense y dos cubanos fueron capturados el 15 de octubre y condenados a muerte por un tribunal revolucionario en Santiago de Cuba. El juicio duró menos de 4 horas, la apelación solo 15 minutos; se llevó a cabo en un gran estadio con miles de personas presentes y vítores. Justo antes de ser llevado a su ejecución, a su tío y primo se les permitió verlo. Estaba muy debilitado, apenas podía pararse, y les dijo que le habían drenada su sangre a la fuerza. Su madre había ido a despedirse de él en su celda de la prisión de Santiago de Cuba. Estaba tranquilo y mientras su madre sollozaba, escribió una nota a su padre: "Papá, hice lo mejor que pude. Cuando recibas ésto, ya todo habrá terminado ... Mantén en calma a los demás. Te amo para siempre".  Estados Unidos presentó una nota diplomática de protesta que fue rechazada por el gobierno de Castro. Bobby fue enterrado el 16 de octubre de 1960 en una tumba sin marcar en el cementerio de Santa Ifigenia, Santiago de Cuba (lote W, fila 4, tumba 25, parte superior). Dejó una hija. El escritor cubano Norberto Fuentes relata cómo en 1987 Fidel y Raúl Castro se regodeaban de haber ejecutado a cuatro estadounidenses. En febrero de 2003, la viuda y la hija de Fuller obtuvieron un fallo por defecto contra el gobierno cubano en un tribunal de Florida.

Sources:

Telephone testimony of brother, Aug. 11, 2013. Written testimony of Tessie Coello, Memorial Cubano, Feb. 19, 2005. Written testimony of sister, Frances Fuller, Memorial Cubano, Feb. 17, 2007. Written testimony of son-in-law, Thomas Caskey, Memorial Cubano, Feb. 22, 2004. Testimony of Janet Fuller, sister, Mesa Redonda program, WAQI-Radio Mambí, 9 February 2006. Testimony of Sarah Caskey, daughter's mother-in-law, Memorial Cubano, Miami, February 2005. Report of the death of an American Citizen,U.S. Department of State,  signed by G.H. Summ, Consul, Santiago de Cuba, Nov. 18, 1960. William J. Jorden, New York Times, Nov. 13, 1960, p. 1, column 1. Ruíz, 1970, p. 316. Encinosa, 1989, p. 145. United States Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, Decision CU-6199, Award to Jenny M. Fuller, 1972. Beruvides, 1993, p. 116. Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil, 1965, pp. 20 and 29. Ariel Remos, Diario Las Américas, 11 November 1998, p. 10-A. N. Fuentes, Narcotrafico y Tareas Revolucionarias, 2002. The Estate of Robert Otis Fuller vs The Republic of Cuba, Claim under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, https://cuban-exile.com/doc_226-250/doc0245.html. David CM-azares, Hialeah woman sues Cuba, Sun Sentinel, May 16, 2002. Gómez Estrada, 1990, p. 169. L. González Infante, Rostros-Faces, p. 130.

Conflict of Evidence:

Violation Status: Confirmed with primary source(s)

Cause of Death: - Execution: by firing squad - 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: - Case 1688: Allen Dale Thompson

Case Record - Robert Otis Fuller