Survivor of the 13 de Marzo tugboat massacre: “It was a premeditated crime by the Cuban government.”

Gustavo Martínez, survivor of the sinking of the tugboat 13 de Marzo who lost his wife and a daughter just months old, recalled the tragedy that marked its 29th anniversary last Thursday.

“I lost my wife, Juliana Enríquez Carrasana, who was from Placetas, Villa Clara, lived in Cuatro Caminos, Havana, I lost my little girl Helen, she was 5 days short of turning 6 months. My father-in-law Reinaldo, who was 48 years old, and many friends…” Martínez recounted in an audio sent to the independent medium Cubanet.

"It was a very sad, very harsh, very drastic, very brutal story, where there was no compassion or scruples. 'Sink it' and they sank it, that's how it was," added this Cuban, who described the incident as "a premeditated crime by the Cuban government."

"I suffered a lot, I was dealing with depression, and I thought life was no longer worth anything. I had a son who was alive, and that gave me the strength to keep fighting; he was 9 years old at that time. I have already reached the peak of human suffering," she concludes her testimony.

In the early hours of July 13, 1994, 68 people boarded the tugboat, docked at the Salvamento pier just steps from the old Tallapiedra power plant. Leading the group was Fidencio Ramel Prieto Hernández, operations chief of the Port of Havana, and the goal of everyone was to emigrate to the United States.

While passing by the Navy base, near the dock for the small boats of Regla and Casablanca, the tugboat was intercepted by vessels from the State Maritime Services Company (EESM), which, with violent maneuvers that lasted for some time, ultimately caused the sinking of the vessel. A total of 37 people died, including 10 children.

The thirty survivors were taken to the Jaimanitas station and then to the stronghold of State Security in Villa Marista.

29 years after that tragedy, those responsible have not been brought to justice. The Cuban government tried to present what happened as an accident. The Cuban authorities never conducted a judicial process and ultimately silenced the case despite repeated attempts by family members and activists to bring those responsible to court.