SOUTH CIRCUIT PRESENTS
THIS IS THE INCIDENT IN THE EMBASSY OF THE VATICAN IN
HAVANA THAT RESULTED IN THE EXECUTION OF THREE BROTHERS, ONE OF THEM
A MINOR.THIS IS THE INCIDENT IN THE EMBASSY OF THE VATICAN IN
HAVANA THAT RESULTED IN THE EXECUTION OF THREE BROTHERS, ONE OF THEM
A MINOR.On Wednesday, December 3, 1980, at noon, a group of eight Cubans got to the gardens of the Vatican Embassy in Havana and avoided the Cuban guards outside the building. Without delay they entered the compound seeking political asylum in the Embassy. Once inside the building they only found an ecclesiastical functionary of the Embassy.
They clearly expressed to this Embassy clerk their desire to obtain asylum. The clerk told them to wait in place until he came back. The functionary disappeared and never came back. What he actually did was to sound the alarm and evacuate all the Church personnel from the Embassy. The only people that remained in the Embassy of the Holy Seed were four old nuns, a guard employed by the Embassy and the eight Cubans seeking asylum. The Cuban communist government as soon as they learned what was happening surrounded the building with Special Troops.
The Vatican after they were informed of the incident gave instruction to their Embassy in Cuba on how to negotiate with the refugees. In this negotiations the Church personnel promised the refugees that if they peacefully followed their instructions the Cuban government would respect their human rights. They told the refugees that Consular personnel from other countries with asylum services would talk to them in the gardens of the Embassy of the Holly Seed to help them with their desire to abandon Cuba. The refugees agreed with what was promise to them and got ready to meet the Consular personnel that were going to help them abandon the island.
When the moment to meet the Consular personnel from other countries was near, the refugees observed that those gathering in the gardens, were not Consular personnel, but members of the Cuban State Security police. When they complained about this, the State Security personnel began to shoot at them. The refugees answered the fire. The Embassy guard was killed by gunfire of the State Security personnel. The Vatican Ambassador in Cuba gave the Cuban State Security personnel permission to attack the Embassy with Special Troops. The Special Troops invaded the building and caught the three women and five men who were seeking asylum.
On Tuesday, January 1, 1981, scarcely 29 days
after being jailed, the 8 refugees were tried in a criminal court.
The trial they went through can be considered a summary military
trial. The defense helped the prosecutor and the audience burst into
screams humiliating the defendants. They were convicted of killing
the guard in the Embassy and were sentenced to death by a shooting
squad. The three Marin Brothers were named:
Ventura Garcia Marin of 17 years of age,
Cipriano Garcia Marin of 21 years of age
and Eugenio Garcia Marin of 25 years of age.
The other five were sentenced to over 5 years in jail each. The
execution took place the day after the trial. This tragic story does
not end there. The mother of the three executed brothers, Mrs.Marin
was tried for knowing the escape attempt. She was sentenced to 20
years in jail. Mrs. Marin went crazy in jail and was released after
ten years in jail..
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