In the early hours of July 13, 1994, the Cuban regime committed a crime that still remains unpunished, the sinking of the tugboat 13 de Marzo near the coasts of Havana.
The massacre, carried out with premeditation, took place seven miles from the Malecon in Havana and left a death toll of 37, including 10 minors. The victims' bodies were never recovered from the bottom of the sea, according to the investigation by Jorge A. García, a Cuban writer and journalist who lost 14 family members in this incident.
The sinking of the tugboat 13 de Marzo became one of the darkest and most tragic episodes in the contemporary history of Cuba; and paradoxically, it still remains unknown to a large part of the population of the island.
The vessel, carrying 62 people desperate to escape the oppressive regime in search of freedom, was deliberately attacked by Cuban government ships.
Three Cuban tugboats, Polargo 1, Polargo 2, and Polargo 3, were responsible for sinking the boat by ramming into it and shooting massive jets of water against it, survivors recounted.
For activists, opponents, survivors of the massacre, and Cuban-American politicians, the impunity enjoyed by the Cuban regime, responsible for this massacre, is an affront to human rights and the memory of those who perished on that tragic day.
On the 30th anniversary of the massacre, survivors and relatives of the victims, human rights activists, and Cuban exiles will hold various acts of remembrance in Miami.
On Friday, July 12th at 1:00 pm, the burial of the ashes of Jorge García Más took place. He passed away in exile and lost 14 relatives in the massacre. The burial of the journalist and writer, author of an in-depth investigation into the sinking of the "13 de Marzo" Tugboat, took place at the Catholic Cemetery, 11411 NW 25th Street in Doral, as reported on social media by journalist Wilfredo Cancio.
On Saturday, July 13th at 11:30 am, a mass was held at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre in Miami for the souls of the victims of the tugboat incident, Jorge García and his recently deceased daughter María Victoria.
María Victoria, who lost her nine-year-old son on that fateful July 13, 1994, provided a heartbreaking testimony of that day that helped thousands of people understand the magnitude of this horrendous Castro crime.
After the mass, a Remembrance Ceremony for the 13 de Marzo tugboat massacre was held on the Malecón behind the Ermita, with Cuban-flagged vessels and flowers taking part.
The Cuban regime, up to this day, has not been held accountable for this crime. Those responsible continue to evade justice, and the pain of the affected families remains unrelieved.
The official newspaper Granma blamed the victims for what happened in an article entitled "A lesson for the irresponsible," in which it presented an infamous version of the events justifying the crime and affirming that those on the boat were thieves.
That article, after manipulating the facts, concluded by quoting "investigations" that supposedly indicated "that in this unfortunate accident there was no intentionality on the part of any of the three tugboats that tried to stop the thieves".
The lack of action and responses from the government is a reflection of the impunity and corruption that have characterized the regime for decades, victims denounce.
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