Cuba Archive - Case 2446

Case ID: 2446

Title: Captain

First name: Martín

Last name: Klein Schiller

Suffix: N/A

Aliases: N/A

Name also reported as: N/A

Age: 31

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: N/A

Civil Status: Unknown

Date of death/disappearance: Day:9 / Month:1 / Year:1961

Citizenship: Czech Republic

Last known address: N/A

Last known city: N/A

Last known province-TOD: N/A

Last known province current: N/A

Last known country: N/A

Location death-address: Airspace over Varadero

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?: No

Docket Number: N/A

Sentence details: N/A

Arrest or detention at time of death: No

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: N/A

Case description:

Pilot of the Cuban Air Force, member of Castro's Armed Forces, whose plane, a Cesna 310, was shot down while flying over Varadero by friendly fire from Castro's militias at Varadero airport who allegedly confused it for enemy aircraft. According to Marzo Fernández, a regime defector, Camilo Cienfuegos' friends deliberately shot it down to murder one of the founders of Cuba's intelligence services, Osvaldo Sánchez, for having had to do with the disappearance in a similar flight of revolutionary commander Camilo Cienfuegos. The plane, piloted by Captain Martín Klein Schiller (age 31) and also carrying Second Lt. Heriberto Martín Guzmán (27), was reported to have been traveling from the eastern provinces to the airport at Santa Marta, 15 km from Varadero.
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Piloto de la Fuerza Aérea Revolucionaria cuyo avión, un Cesna 310, fue derribado mientras volaba sobre Varadero por las milicias de Castro en el aeropuerto de Varadero, quienes supuestamente lo confundieron con aviones enemigos. Según Marzo Fernández, desertor del régimen, los amigos de Camilo Cienfuegos deliberadamente lo derribaron para asesinar a uno de los fundadores de los servicios de inteligencia cubanos, Osvaldo Sánchez, por haber tenido que ver con la desaparición en una huida similar del comandante revolucionario Camilo Cienfuegos.
Se informó que el avión, pilotado por el capitán Martín Klein Schiller (31 años) y que también transportaba al subteniente Heriberto Martín Guzmán (27), viajaba desde las provincias orientales hasta el aeropuerto de Santa Marta, a 15 km de Varadero.

Sources: Conflict of Evidence:

Violation Status: Reported: Highly likely / Highly reliable source(s)

Cause of Death: - Accidental: friendly fire & deliberate actions

Occupations: - Military Specific Occupations

External Files: N/A

Relatives in Archive: N/A

Victim Type: - Armed Forces: military or militia

Affiliations: N/A

Other Victims Same Event: - Case 2843: Osvaldo Sánchez Cabrera - Case 2842: Heriberto Martín Guzmán

Case Record - Martín Klein Schiller