On July 13, 1994, at around three in the morning under the cover of darkness, around seventy men, women, and children boarded the recently renovated tugboat “13 de Marzo.”
They planned to escape the island by making the ninety-mile journey across the Straits of Florida, hoping to reach freedom in the United States. Many also sought the means to send help back to the family they were leaving behind.
Eduardo Suárez Esquivel (Eddy), a computer engineer who had attempted unsuccessfully to flee on several occasions, came up with the idea. Obsessed with the idea of finding a way out of Cuba, he convinced his brother in law, Fidencio Ramel Prieto, to take the tugboat and serve as skipper. Ramel, who was in charge of operations at the Port of Havana, served as one of its Communist Party secretaries and had twenty-five years of commendable service at the port. This gave him access to the
tugboat, which belonged to the state enterprise Empresa de Servicios Marítimos. With all vessels in Cuba under government ownership and tightly controlled to prevent escapes, this access was no small feat. Raúl Muñoz, a friend and fellow port worker who had been harbor pilot of the “13 de Marzo” and was now the pilot for another tugboat, was recruited to pilot the tugboat for the escape. Several more men joined in to develop the plot.
The plan included numerous family members and close friends. Only Ramel had the entire list of the approximately fifty two passengers who were to go on the journey. The organizers were divided into groups and each had a leader. Each leader was in charge of getting his respective group to the pier on the designated day. To keep maximum secrecy, the children were told they were going on an excursion.
On three previous occasions, a date had been chosen, but the escape had been aborted when insiders working at the port announced unexpected security measures deemed unfavorable. Unbeknownst to them, government authorities had been receiving information of the plan, in all probability by infiltrators.
The spies are suspected to have been part of the actual planning group -in fact two did not show up for the departure. But, the information may have leaked out to spies through relatives who knew of the plot.
On the designated date, the group quietly boarded the tugboat in the middle of the night and the motors were started. Unexpectedly, people who were not on the list showed up, a few others who were to come did not. It was 3:15 A.M. when they began to make their way out of Havana‟s harbor. Immediately, a tugboat belonging to the same state enterprise initiated a chase.
The pursuing vessel first tried to drive the “13 de Marzo” into a dock. When that proved unsuccessful, it rammed it, attempting to push it towards the reefs by the mouth of the harbor near the Morro Castle.
As its crew maneuvered skillfully, the “13 de Marzo” avoided the attacks and kept sailing forward.
People at nearby piers and at the Malecón, Havana‟s seawall, witnessed the attack and were yelling to let them go.
Just as the “13 de Marzo” cleared the harbor, two other tugboats that had been waiting for them in the dark, joined the chase. With their water cannons, they started spraying high pressure jets at the escaping vessel. The wooden “13 de Marzo” was now being hounded by three modern, larger, and heavier tugboats made of steel –the “Polargo 2,” “Polargo 3,” and “Polargo 5.” They were respectively commandeered by Jesús Martínez Machín, a man named David, and one called Arístides.
As the “13 de Marzo” sailed ahead, the pursuing tugboats kept spraying high-pressure water and getting in its way to make it stop. After around forty-five minutes, when the “13 de Marzo” had reached approximately seven miles out to sea, the pursuing tugboats began ramming it. Although the “13 de Marzo” had stopped and signaled its willingness to surrender and turn back, the relentless attack continued. The pilot of the “13 de Marzo” attempted to radio an SOS, but the pounding water had damaged the electrical equipment. A vessel belonging to the Cuban Coast Guard had arrived on the scene, a Soviet-built cutter referred to as “Griffin.”
VICTIMS
But, it stayed back, simply observing the spectacle.
The adults brought out the children on deck to see if this would deter the incessant jet streams and collisions. In desperation, parents held their children up in the air and pleaded for their lives, putting them in front of the powerful reflector lights pointed at them. But, the attackers disregarded their cries
and continued to bombard the powerless passengers with the high pressure water. The mighty streams scattered them all over deck, ripped clothing off, and tore children from their parents‟ arms. Some were swept into the ocean immediately. In a frantic attempt to find safety, some passengers went below deck to the cargo hold and the machine room, many carrying children. The “13 de Marzo” was now taking in water from the incessant ramming.
Although it had stopped its engine, the “Polargo 5” rammed it decisively one last time and it began to sink. The doors to the machine room and cargo hold were blocked by the water. With the passengers pinned down, they desperately pounded on the walls and ceilings as the children wailed in horror.
Frantically, Raúl, the pilot, tried unsuccessfully to open the trap door on deck as it was quickly filling up with water. Unable to make it budge, silence soon took over. Those trapped below had all drowned.
It was around 4:50 A.M. when the tugboat sank seven miles northeast of Havana harbor. Panic gripped the stunned survivors. Mothers tried to hold on to their children to prevent them from drowning, screaming for husbands and other relatives to help. They all clung to life in high seas in the dark of night. Many floated atop a large refrigeration box, others hung onto anything that floated by or simply treaded water.
The three boats then began circling the survivors, creating wave turbulence and eddies for around fortyfive minutes. It was obvious they wanted to make sure no one would be left alive to bear witness to the horror. María Victoria García, who lost her ten-year old son, husband, and many other close family members later related: “After nearly an hour of battling in the open sea, the boat circled round the survivors, creating a whirlpool so that we would drown. Many disappeared into the seas… We asked them to save us, but they just laughed.” One of the tugboats attempted to run over the floating refrigeration box holding many survivors. Fortunately, it was unsuccessful.
All of a sudden, the attackers stopped and the tugboat crews told survivors to swim toward the Cuban Coast Guard ships on the scene. Once on board, they noticed that a merchant ship with a Greek flag was close by, approaching Havana harbor. Survivors believe this is was what made the attackers stop unexpectedly. Several Coast Guard vessels then moved in to rescue those who were left.
Sources: CubaArchives/FreeSocietyProject/InternetPhotos/The Cuban History
The Tugboat Massacre of July 13, 1994/THeCubanHistory.com/ Arnoldo Varona, Editor
EL HUNDIMIENTO DEL REMOLCADOR “13 DE MARZO”
El remolcador 13 de Marzo, en el cual habíamos intentado huir de Cuba la madrugada del 13 de julio de 1994, estaba hundido. Los que habíamos tenido la oportunidad de asirnos a una nevera que permaneció flotando en el agua, logramos salvar nuestras vidas. Cuando todo terminó, habíamos sobrevivido 31 personas. Habían muerto 41, entre ellas varios niños. Mi esposa Pilar y mi hijo Yasser, de 11 años, estaban entre los muertos.
VICTIMS
Desde mucho antes habíamos planeado la fuga. En un principio, durante mis vacaciones de ese año, hice contacto con un amigo cercano. Con él tuve la primera conversación sobre el tema. Ambos fuimos a ver a Raúl Muñoz, ex capitán del remolcador 13 de Marzo que en aquel momento capitaneaba otra embarcación de la Empresa de Navegación Mambisa. Se produjo entonces otro lazo importante para nuestros planes. Después de nuestro fructífero encuentro con Muñoz, nos reunimos con Fidencio Ramel Prieto, jefe de operaciones del puerto de La Habana y secretario del Partido Comunista de Cuba en aquel lugar. Había confianza. Muñoz y Ramel Prieto tenían el mismo deseo que nosotros de huir de Cuba.Así, entre todos, planeamos los pormenores de la fuga.
Antes del 13 de julio hubo tres intentos de abandonar el país, pero por diversas razones tuvimos que suspenderlos.Finalmente, el día 13 logramos abordar el remolcador 13 de Marzo. Ramel Prieto tenía el barco bajo su control, inclusive la llave del motor y el timón. Es costumbre desactivar el timón de estas embarcaciones cuando se encuentran en puerto.Y de sólo poner proa rumbo al Estrecho de la Florida, aún dentro de la bahía de La Habana, supimos que la Dirección de Seguridad del Estado conocía nuestros planes.
Cronología de los hechos
Zarpamos a unos 300 metros de la capitanía del puerto, que está en medio de la bahía. Bordeamos muy despacio el área de Regla, alejándonos lo más posible de la capitanía. Al pasar por el área de la capitanía un remolcador, del tipo conocido como Polargo, nos vino encima a unos 200 metros de la fortaleza de El Morro y nos lanzó los primeros chorros de agua con mangueras de alta presión.Había gente en el Malecón habanero, parejas de novios, y comenzaron a gritar al ver que el Polargo trataba de hundirnos.
Las mujeres y los niños subieron a cubierta para que los tripulantes del otro barco se percataran de que iban a cometer un asesinato. Ellos no se detuvieron. En medio de varias maniobras, el 13 de Marzo chocó con el Polargo, y en el incidente logramos poner proa hacia afuera. Al salir de la bahía a mar abierto, sin embargo, había otras dos embarcaciones Polargo esperándonos escondidas detrás de El Morro. Entre los tres barcos hacen un cerco al 13 de Marzo, y dos de ellos nos lanzan potentes chorros de agua. Comienzan entonces a alejarnos de la costa. Nos embestían y golpeaban, una y otra vez tratando de volcarnos. La maniobra no surtió efecto porque el 13 de Marzo era potente.Entonces se colocó un Polargo delante de nosotros y otro detrás, este último era el que nos golpeaba. Así lograron quebrar la estructura del 13 de Marzo, el cual comenzó a hundirse por la popa.
En ese momento, el Polargo de atrás nos “escoreó”, es decir se montó encima de nuestra embarcación, la cual se hundió hasta la mitad. Unas 30 personas quedaron atrapadas en la bodega del 13 de Marzo. Los que logramos salir a la superficie vimos que las tres naves Polargo giraban a nuestro alrededor a alta velocidad, tratando de hundirnos. Se mantuvieron haciendo remolinos durante 40 minutos. Era evidente que tenían el propósito de no dejar sobreviviente alguno que luego se convirtiera en un peligroso testigo. Entre 15 y 18 personas que salimos a la superficie nos asimos a una nevera que flotaba. Asi pudimos salvarnos. Mi pequeño hijo Sergio estaba aferrado a mí. No sabíamos nada del resto de la familia.
Rescate a “regañadientes”
Para nuestra sorpresa, vimos que los tres Polargos quedaron quietos y una lancha torpedera de Guardafronteras entró hasta donde flotábamos. Nos recogieron. Al subir a la lancha nos percatamos de que un barco de bandera griega, que se encontraba a unos 800 o mil metros de distancia, trataba de entrar a la bahía de La Habana. Comprendimos entonces por qué habían detenido la masacre y nos habían recogido. La lancha torpedera sabía, desde el principio, lo que estaba ocurriendo. Nos había seguido y sus tripulantes habían sido testigos del hundimiento del 13 de Marzo.
Sources: CubaArchives/FreeSocietyProject/InternetPhotos/The Cuban History
The Tugboat Massacre of July 13, 1994/THeCubanHistory.com/ Arnoldo Varona, Editor