Almost five decades have passed since the mid-flight bombing of Cubana de Aviación flight CU-1201, which caused 73 deaths: 57 Cubans, 11 Guyanese, and five North Koreans.
As every year, the relatives of the victims, authorities, and the general public paid tribute to the victims at the Colon Cemetery, where floral tributes were also placed on behalf of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Revolution; the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez; the Councils of State and Ministers; the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation; aviation workers; and the people of Cuba.
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Although 49 years have passed, time has never moved on for people like Wilfredo Pérez Rodríguez, son of the crew captain Wilfredo Pérez Pérez.
"I feel the same pain for that loss as I did on the first day. I remember the symbolic burial on October 15 after Fidel Castro Ruz's speech in the Plaza de la Revolución. I bear witness not only to my own grief, but also to that of all the people who gathered during the three days when the remains of the martyrs were laid to rest. Some people tell me how they felt about the crime when they were pioneers.
"Although in mourning, it is important to come here every year and keep alive the memories and legacy of our loved ones, victims of the persistent terrorism of the United States against Cuba, while the guilty died peacefully in Miami without paying for their crimes," he said at the tribute ceremony, repeated without fail every year on this date.
Regarding their cut-short dreams, she said: "They all died young. The fencers never defended the country in other sporting arenas, nor did they allow the crew members to work on their planes anymore. None of them saw their children grow up, or their grandchildren."
Rafaela González led the national fencing commission during the golden age of the sport in the 1990s. That history had promised much more since before, with the generation that won eight titles in the Central American Championship in Venezuela, shortly before suffering its only defeat by the dirtiest game imaginable.
"I knew them all, I even recruited some of them, like Ricardo Cabrera, for the Sports Initiation School, where I practically lived. Being here is a human and moral commitment, and I accept no apologies; there is a lot of ideological penetration now, but no one can fool me, I will die with this, for sure."
The incident represented an affront to peace, protected by the U.S. government's protectionist policy toward terrorist groups, whose actions have caused 3,478 deaths and left 2,099 people disabled since the triumph of the Revolution. Even so, "they have the shamelessness and audacity to include the island on the list of states that sponsor this
