The neuropsychologist Ileana de la Guardia, daughter of Colonel Tony de la Guardia, executed by the Castro regime in 1989, revealed in an interview with Tania Costa, on CiberCuba, that it was the wife of French President François Mitterrand who managed to get her uncle, Patricio de la Guardia, out of a punishment cell where his life was in danger.
Patricio de la Guardia Font, twin brother of Tony de la Guardia, was sentenced to 30 years in prison on July 7, 1989, as part of Case Number One, the most controversial judicial process of Castro's Cuba, which culminated in the execution of General Arnaldo Ochoa and three other officers, including Tony de la Guardia.
Ileana de la Guardia recounts that, after obtaining political asylum in France with her husband, they began reaching out to influential contacts within the Cuban government to protect Patricio de la Guardia. "It is only thanks to our connections here, which included the wife of President Mitterrand, that Médecins du Monde and Danielle Mitterrand intervened, leading to Patricio de la Guardia being taken out of the punishment cell," she stated.
The fear that her uncle would die in prison, just like former Interior Minister José Abrantes did, was the driving force behind those efforts. "We were very afraid that if we didn't act to protect him, he might die," confessed Ileana de la Guardia.
The situation worsened when the regime began to spread rumors that Patricio de la Guardia was suffering from cancer. This prompted the family to demand an independent medical visit. According to Ileana de la Guardia, Fidel Castro accepted that inspection solely due to his personal ties with Danielle Mitterrand. “Fidel Castro agrees because of the good relationship he had with the wife of the French president and simply accepts it for this reason.”
Danielle Mitterrand, founder of France Libertés and a close figure to Castro since 1974, had previously made efforts for Cuban political prisoners. According to Le Monde archives, in 1995 she succeeded in securing the release of dissident Yndamiro Restano Díaz during a visit from the Cuban leader to France.
After leaving the punishment cell, Patricio de la Guardia did not immediately regain dignified conditions. He remained in isolation at the Guanajay prison and was later transferred to an even more peculiar situation. “They take him out of Guanajay and place him in a special isolated house for detentions, in the middle of the countryside, which is not a farm either, where he is alone in that house and there are only some guards to watch over him,” described Ileana de la Guardia.
It was in that environment where Patricio de la Guardia began to slowly recover. The international and family pressure led the regime to allow him to receive painting materials. "They allow him to receive his brushes, his paints, his painting materials, and I think this also gives him a bit of strength to keep waiting for the years to pass and for him to be freed," his niece explained.
El País reported in August 1991 that Patricio de la Guardia had been incarcerated in a prison between Güines and Melena del Sur, under severe isolation conditions and in a sealed cell, with only one hour of outdoor access per day.
Patricio de la Guardia was released in March 1997 to attend his father's funeral. He was informed that he would be placed on parole, under house arrest, but he was soon taken back to prison. His formal sentence of 30 years was not officially extinguished until June 12, 2019. Ileana de la Guardia emphasizes that her uncle was convicted for not reporting his brother, Tony de la Guardia, knowing that the drug trafficking activities permitted on the coasts of Cuba were authorized from the highest levels.
"Thirty-seven years have passed," concluded Ileana de la Guardia, whose family continues to seek justice for the executions of 1989.
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