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| Cuban President Fidel Castro, left congratulates Elian's grandmothers Raquel Rodriguez, right, and Mariela Quintana, second right, Saturday April 22, 2000 in Jaguey Grande, 170 kilometers (106 miles) east of Havana, during a rally to celebrate the 1961' victory in Bay of Pigs and to demand the return of Elian to Cuba. (AP Photo/Jose Goitia) |
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| Cuban President Fidel Castro gestures during a rally in Jaguey Grande, Cuba 170 kilometers east of Havana Saturday April 22, 2000. The rally was celebrate the 1961 victory in the Bay of Pigs and to demand the return of Elian to Cuba. (AP Photo/Jose Goitia) |
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| Cuban President Fidel Castro speaks to Elian's grandfather Benigno Brotons, right, father of Elian's mother Elisabeth Brotons who died last November tryng to reach the coast of the U.S. with Elian, Saturday April 22, 2000 during a rally in Jaguey Grande 170 kilometers (106 miles) east of Havana. The rally was to celebrate the 1961 victory in the Bay of Pigs and to demand the return of Elian to Cuba. (AP Photo/Jose Goitia) |
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| Cuban President Fidel Castro and Oto Rivero, right, leader of the Youth Communist Organization arrive at a rally Saturday April 22, 2000 in Jaguey Grande, Cuba 170 kilometers (106 miles) east of Havana. The rally was to celebrate the 1961 victory in the Bay of Pigs and to demand the return of Elian to Cuba. (AP Photo/Jose Goitia) |
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| Cuban President Fidel Castro gestures during a speech Saturday April 22, 2000, during a rally in Jaguey Grande, Cuba 170 kilometers (106 miles) east of Cuba. The rally was to celebrate the 1961 victory in the Bay of Pigs and to demand the return of Elian to Cuba. Castro said his government would do 'whatever necessary,' short of war, to ensure the return home of Elian.(AP Photo/Jose Goitia) |
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| Elian Gonzalez's grandmothers Mariela Quintana, right, and Raquel Rodriquez, left, speak during a rally Saturday April 22, 2000 in Jaguey Grande, Cuba 170 kilometers (106 miles) east of Havana. The rally was to celebrate the 1961 victory in the Bay of Pigs and to demand the return of Elian to Cuba. (AP Photo/Jose Goitia) |
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| April 23, 2000: Cuban President Fidel Castro looks at a Communist Pioneer after voting in municipal elections in Havana (Jose Goitia/AP) |
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| Cuban President Fidel Castro speaks to reporters after voting in municipal elections Sunday, April 23, 2000 in Havana, Cuba. Castro on Sunday praised U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno for "just" action in returning 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez to his father while denouncing U.S. presidential candidates as unethical for resisting the child's return to Cuba. (AP Photo/Jose Goitia) |
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| Elian Gonzalez's teacher Yamilin Morales Delgado holds up a picture of the six-year-old and his father in the United States, to Elian's classmates in the Marcel Saldo school in Cardenas, Cuba Monday, April 24, 2000. Teachers and students discussed Saturday's reunion between Elian and his father. (AP Photo/Jose Goitia) |
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Question: Does Fidel Castro care about the well-being of his Cuban citizens? Here's one reason why he does not...
July 1997 Cuba The Sinking of the "13 De Marzo" Tugboat on 13 July 1994
The Sinking of the "13 de Marzo" Tugboat on 13 July 1994 On 13 July 1994 at least 35 men, women and children were lost at sea when the vessel on which they and others were attempting to flee Cuba sank some seven miles out from Havana. The 31 survivors were eventually picked up by coast guards and taken to shore where the 20 male survivors were detained. Several of the survivors allege that their vessel sank after it had been pursued and assaulted by three other vessels, apparently acting under official instructions, and that those on board were given no opportunity to surrender. The Cuban Government denied any responsibility for the sinking of the tugboat or for the loss of life, alleging that it was an accident caused by the irresponsible actions of those on board. However, Amnesty International has received compelling evidence, including eyewitness testimony from several of the survivors, indicating that those on board the three pursuing vessels employed excessive force disproportionate to the actual situation and seemed to be taking orders from a fourth vessel. They allege that their pursuers deliberately rammed the “13 de Marzo” and undertook other aggressive actions which deliberately put at risk the lives of those on board, none of whom, from the information so far available, even from government sources, were armed or in a position to seriously resist capture. If this was the case, Amnesty International believes that those who perished in the incident were the victims of extrajudicial execution. |