A forgotten crime of Castroism

By: Pedro Corzo - 24/10/2025

Guest columnist.
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Decades have passed, overwhelming days and hours, to the point that those of us who lived through those dire times barely remember them, which is why it is prudent for the new generations of the hemisphere to know that Castroism developed many of the most violent and criminal strategies the Americas have ever known.

It is very important to delve into the past; no crime should go unpunished, much less forgotten. Hence the importance of the work being done by filmmaker Lilo Vilaplana and activist Reinol Rodríguez, with a historical documentary about the fateful Cubana de Aviación Flight 495, which crashed near Nipe Bay after being hijacked by followers of Fidel and Raúl Castro.

Rodríguez and Vilaplana are attempting to bring to light a crime that was met with complicit silence from many, including authorities and numerous prominent media outlets at the time. The United States government itself, according to media reports, declared that the incident fell outside its jurisdiction; apparently, they were seduced by the trappings of Castroism.

These two Cubans, committed to historical truth, thoroughly investigated the events mentioned above and interviewed survivors of the disaster, including Omara González, a passenger on the aforementioned flight.

Castroism was violent during the uprising and even more so as a government. During its time, they planted explosives in public places to force the population to stay indoors, murdering police officers and soldiers to motivate government repression, a ferocious official violence that should also be remembered. This culminated in the Castro strategy of "the three Cs: zero movie theaters, zero nightclubs, and zero Cs…" in reference to brothels.

This threat was quickly confirmed when a bomb placed in an abandoned woman's purse exploded in a nightclub in the capital, injuring several young women, one of whom had to have her arm amputated, recalled writer José Antonio Albertini, who was also one of those who tried to rescue Flight 496 from oblivion on his program on WLRN.

Sometimes, violence wreaked havoc on the insurgents' own ranks, as in the city of Santa Clara when two young students were carrying a bomb that fatally exploded prematurely.

The bombings and kidnappings carried out by Castro's troops in compliance with the brothers' fateful orders pale in comparison to the horrendous crime that occurred on November 1, 1958, exactly two months before a darkness that has lasted 66 years and 10 months came to Cuba, two days before the last plural, albeit fraudulent, elections in our history were held.

As a sign that the spiral of Castro's violence was ready to operate outside the Island, Raúl Castro issued Order 30, authorizing the kidnapping of American citizens. This led to the kidnapping of 49 Americans in the Sierra in June 1958, including 20 civilians, employees of the American-owned Moa nickel mining plant, and 29 marines.

Incomprehensibly, the painful events of Flight 495 were barely mentioned among Cubans. Gerardo Reyes, a distinguished Colombian journalist, participated in the rescue. He dedicated 10 years of his life to an investigation that culminated in a book titled "Flight 495," a work that shows how innocent people are involved in complex situations that can end in their own deaths.

Cubana de Aviación Flight 495 was the first plane hijacked in U.S. airspace. The passengers had no ties to the Cuban government; they were not political targets; the hijackers apparently intended to transport weapons, ammunition, and possibly money to the eastern guerrillas.

The trip to Varadero, just over 300 kilometers and 45 minutes, never reached its destination. Aboard the Vickers Viscount turboprop, there were 16 passengers, including a pregnant woman.

The aircraft was captured by five young militants of the ill-fated 26th of July Movement, allegedly following orders from Raúl Castro. The operation ended in tragedy, according to Gente newspaper in its November 16, 1958, edition. Seventeen people died, including six American citizens. None of the perpetrators were held accountable for the crime. Another Cuban tragedy that "no one wants to hear about, much less see."

«The opinions published herein are the sole responsibility of its author».