Cuban Archive that documents crimes committed by the Cuban dictatorship is presented in Madrid

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Cuban Archive that documents crimes committed by the Cuban dictatorship is presented in Madrid
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María Werlau, executive director of the Cuban Archive, answers questions from a reporter at the press conference held in Madrid on March 6th.

Published by Libertad Digital

María Werlau, executive director of the Cuban Archive, presented the results of a “voluntary effort with little resources” on Tuesday, March 6th in Madrid. The Project managed to collect facts and testimonials about the crimes committed by Fidel Castro’s dictatorship. When asked by journalists how many have been killed in the name of the Cuban revolution, she could only respond with an approximation of “I am not sure, 100,000… 200,000…”

Although numbers are important, “I want to tell each person’s story. When I study a case, on occasions without being able to sleep at night, that person is what is most important to me.” One by one, the Cuban archive has been able to document 8,190 deaths including executions, assassinations, disappearances, and deaths in prisons. The amount increases daily because “as people find out about our project, they come to us and tell us about new cases” of deaths in the name of socialism.

As María Werlau gathers all the stories, she notes that “the Castro regime has demonstrated a profound contempt for human life since its first days; its first hours. There are stories which repeat time and time again."

Among the many atrocities committed by the regime Werlau highlighted the “extraction of blood before executions, which was later sold for money. Though it is hard to believe, it was known among political prisoners and family members. They would extract just enough blood so the person would not die, and could be executed; sometimes they had to be carried in a stretcher to be executed because they could not walk on their own.” The blood would later be sold to Canada and other countries. Werlau also spoke about “the execution of pregnant women, children in front of their parents, and the disrespect for victims and their families.”

Antonio Guedes, president of the Ibero-American Association for Liberty mentioned a movie by Ernesto Almendros, Nadie escuchaba, in which the filmmaker demonstrates how many people “doubt” the regime’s crimes or they hide them “because of fear or complicity.”

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