August 1994 - Safeguarding the Physical Well-Being of the ”Leaders of the Revolution”

August 1994: Safeguarding the Physical Well-Being of the "Leaders of the
Revolution" / Juan Juan Almeida
Posted on September 3, 2014

1994 began with uncertainty and ended in despair. A number of
astrologers were in agreement: there was reason to believe something
unusual would happen later that year. This was partly due, they said, to
increased solar activity. In early August large solar flares occurred.

Aside from the considered opinion of those who can see everything in the
stars, it was the year in which Cuba reached the low-point in the
economic decline that had begun with the fall of the Soviet bloc in
1989. The crisis was exacerbated by several factors including a sugar
harvest that barely amounted to four million tons and an unfortunate but
predictable outbreak of polyneuritis, which forced authorities to make
vast financial expenditures.

The underground economy saw record numbers of transactions, comparable
to state retail sales but with prices that were twenty times lower. As a
result of financial imbalance, budget deficits and excessive monetary
liquidity in the hands of consumers, life in Cuba became a continuing
drama, making novel attempts to flee the island illegally — the "13 de
Marzo" tugboat incident and the launches from Regla and Casablanca being
two examples — quite common.

The government realized this was a time bomb on the verge of detonating,
leading either to a new stampede from the island or a widespread revolt.
Therefore, to increase morale within the military, a series of
promotions was announced on June 6 of that year.

But by August Havana had become a sweltering city, with the sea breeze
serving as the poor man's fan. On August 5 around twenty young men were
sitting on the sea wall along the Malecon at Puerto Avenue near Cuba and
Chacon streets. Perhaps because they were poor or perhaps because some
of them were black, the men aroused suspicion.

Trucks carrying members of the special brigade appeared and began
harassing the youths. Exhaustion, hardship, rage and even longstanding
grievances led to an explosion of civil disobedience. The men gathered
there responded by marching down the street en masse and shouting,
"We've had enough" and "Down with Fidel."

Others joined them, and then many more joined those. It was not an
anti-social riot carried out by criminals; it was a spontaneous popular
reaction to circumstances, which was repressed with perverse excess. The
reaction by the Cuban government was brutal. It counter-attacked from
all sides.

Using force, trickery and bloodshed, it confronted groups of Cubans,
quashed the protest and infiltrated the demonstrators' ranks, casting a
chill over libertarian bravado.

The police made a public show of force. Helmeted riot squads with
shields and combat vehicles patrolled the streets of Havana, especially
those in the Old Havana, Guanabacoa and Tenth of October neighborhoods.
The assassins of law used the technology of enforcement to threaten
everyone, leaving the city's population with a somber, frightening and
discouraging vision.

In the national media everyone was forced to publicly repudiate what was
being called "the events of August 5." They had to cheer even when there
was no reason to do so. But what few of them realized was that a plan
had been put in place to "safeguard the physical well-being of the
leaders of the revolution."

Yes, those khaki-clad men who grew old repeating the spurious slogan "To
defend the revolution to our last drop of blood" had an evacuation plan
for such contingencies. It involved gathering their families together
and heading not for the frontline but for the front of the plane where,
instead of trenches, there were comfortable seats and flight attendants
serving champagne.

I know this because on August 5, 1994 — even before the sun had fully
risen in the sky — I received a short phone call from a security officer
asking me not to leave the house. Five minutes later my father's chief
bodyguard, Raul Romero Torreblanca, showed up and told me gather
essential items because they would be coming by to pick me up. There was
no explanation.

Doing otherwise was not an option. For many years Cuban officials (the
most high-ranking) were asked to identity key family members and, even
though I was no longer to the liking of the top leadership, my name
still appeared on the list my father had drawn up.

Torreblanca left. Three hours later the phone rang again. "All clear," I
heard someone say. "Situation under control."

Asking around, I discovered that not all the leaders or their family
members had gotten the same call, or comparable instructions. As my
grandmother used to say, "Those who steal always lie."

11 August 2014

Source: August 1994: Safeguarding the Physical Well-Being of the
"Leaders of the Revolution" / Juan Juan Almeida | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/august-1994-safeguarding-juan-juan-almeida/