Cuba Archive - Case 8418

Case ID: 8418

Title: N/A

First name: Camilo

Last name: León Hernández

Suffix: N/A

Aliases: N/A

Name also reported as: N/A

Age: 25

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: N/A

Civil Status: Unknown

Date of death/disappearance: Day:14 / Month:8 / Year:1993

Citizenship: N/A

Last known address: N/A

Last known city: Santa Cruz del Norte

Last known province-TOD: La Habana

Last known province current: La Habana

Last known country: Cuba

Location death-address: Gulf of Mexico waters, off the coast of Quintana Roo, Mexico

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: Mexico

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:

Left Cienfuegos, Cuba, on July 31, 1993 in an 'illegal exit'; with his girlfriend and 16 other passengers, hoping to reach Grand Cayman and, eventually, Florida. Their 22 feet boat 'Arnoldito' had motor problems and, facing bad weather, they strayed from their proposed track and ran out of supplies. Two weeks later, they hit a reef, sinking around 2 km. from Punta Herrero, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Ten drowned, although only seven bodies were recovered (including her and her boyfriend and parents with their two small children); they were buried by Mexican authorities in a mass grave, but Cuban Americans soon collected the remains and held a burial in Miami with mass attendance on September 4, 1993. Mexico had immediately deported the eight traumatized survivors to Cuba, but took them back ten days later in response to Cuban exile protests in different U.S. cities and international outrage (they were soon admitted to the United States).
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Salió de Cienfuegos, Cuba, el 31 de julio de 1993 en una 'salida ilegal'; con su novia y otros 16 pasajeros, con la esperanza de llegar a Gran Caimán y, eventualmente, Florida. Su barco de 22 pies el 'Arnoldito' tenía problemas de motor y, frente a un mal tiempo, se desvió de su ruta y se quedó sin suministros. Dos semanas más tarde, chocaron con un arrecife, hundiéndose alrededor de 2 km. de Punta Herrero, Quintana Roo, México. Diez de ellos se ahogaron, aunque sólo se recuperaron siete cuerpos (incluyendo el de él su novia y sus padres con sus dos hijos pequeños); Fueron enterrados por las autoridades mexicanas en una fosa común, pero los cubanoamericanos pronto recogieron los restos y celebraron un entierro en Miami con asistencia masiva el 4 de septiembre de 1993. México deportóa Cuba  de inmediato a los ocho sobrevivientes traumatizados, pero los llevó de regreso a México diez días más tarde en respuesta a las protestas de exiliados cubanos en diferentes ciudades de Estados Unidos y la indignación internacional (más tarde fueron admitidos a los Estados Unidos).

Sources: Conflict of Evidence:

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

Cause of Death: - Exit attempt: dehydration/drowning/etc.

Occupations: - Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations

External Files: N/A

Relatives in Archive: N/A

Victim Type: - Attempting exit

Affiliations: N/A

Other Victims Same Event: - Case 8413: Gilberto Ferrer - Case 8414: Gilberto Guimera Monzón - Case 8415: Gilberto Guimera Rivas - Case 8416: Laura Guimera Rivas - Case 8417: Odalyn Hernández - Case 8419: Rosario Rivas Prieto

Case Record - Camilo León Hernández