Remembering the victims of the Cuban exodus

This photo, provided by Monroe County (Florida) Medical Examiner’s Office, is a reconstruction from remains believed to belong to Kathia Rodríguez León, 12 to 14 years old. Kathia perished on February 4, 1992 with her family when the small airplane in which they had fled Cuba crashed into the ocean after apparently running out of gas. Her father, Luis (age 35) was piloting the crop-dusting aircraft, an Antonov AN-2, that had left from Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. All passengers were killed: Kathia's mother, Lilia (age 33), baby sister Dalvis (6 months old), and four others —Julio Daniel García Soto (age 26), Doris González (age 28), Ramón Francisco León, and Omar Martínez Gallardo (age 25). Three bodies were recovered floating in the waters near Marathon Key, Florida: Kathia's parents, who were buried at the Cuban rafters' mausoleum in Miami, and the remains believed to be Kathia’s. Florida authorities are looking for next of kin to confirm her identity. If you have any information on this case, please contact info@CubaArchive.org.

We can only imagine the excitement Kathia must have felt to dream of a new life in freedom and the fearful final moments she had with her loved ones as they realized their efforts had failed. There are so many more tragic stories like this one, so many unarmed civilians, even children, who have perished while fleeing Cuba after being dragged out of diplomatic missions were they sought refuge or from nearby keys, then killed by State Security or executed by firing squad for trying to escape. Many others have drowned or been devoured by sharks or succumbed to the elements in harrowing sea journeys; some have been killed by coyotes in marches through Central American jungles, or blown up by mines surrounding the U.S. base at Guantánamo, or frozen in the landing gear of jets, or shot or drowned by Cuban border guards. Cuba Archive has gathered information on some 1,600 victims to date of exit attempts from Cuba. Many more thousands are believed to have died and an undetermined number believed lost at sea was likely executed by Cuban border guards. Documenting these cases is very difficult and attempts to do so from Cuba have been punished with long prison sentences.

Documented deaths and disappearances of persons attempting to flee Cuba

January 1, 1959 – March 30, 2019 Work in progress Total to date: 1,610 Executions by firing squad: 25 Extrajudicial killings¹: 155 Forced disappearances²: 22 Disappeared³: 1,205 Died of drowning, dehydration, etc.: 186 Killed by mines : 6 Murdered by non-state agents: 6 Accidents: 4 Suicide: 1 Source: http://database.cubaarchive.org

1. Extrajudicial killings: state agents reportedly assassinated the victims.
2. Forced disappearances: the involvement of state agents is known or strongly suspected and remains of those presumed killed have not been found.
3. Disappeared (mostly at sea): the involvement of state agents is unknown but possible.

Because article 215 of Cuba's Penal Code forbids Cuba's citizens from leaving the island without prior government authorization and penalizes attempting to do so, many have spent or are spending years in prison for foiled escape attempts. This photo is also a reconstruction from remains found March 5, 1979, floating in the ocean by Bahia Honda State Park, Florida Keys. The Monroe County (Florida) Medical Examiner is also looking to identify the white female, estimated age 16 to 19, 5’5”, 110 lbs., with shoulder length, curly, auburn hair, apparently brown eyes, and wearing blue Lee jeans and a small sized black tank top. It is unknown if she was an escapee from Cuba. If you have any information on this case, please contact info@CubaArchive.org.