Former rebel remembers promise, betrayal of Cuban revolution
Ninety-year-old Huber Matos is the only man living in exile in Miami who
had a front-seat role in the Cuban Revolution.
Former Cuban revolutionary Huber Matos reflects
Herald Writer/Reporter Ellie Brecher interviews former Cuban
revolutionary Huber Matos who reflects on his experiences during the
most significant historical time in Cuba's history-- Fidel Castro's
Revolution.
Miami Herald Staff
BY LUISA YANEZ
lyanez@MiamiHerald.com
At 90 and with mixed feelings, Huber Matos points himself out in a
famous black-and-white photograph taken 50 years ago -- Jan. 8, 1959 --
the morning the victors of the Cuban revolution rolled into Havana to a
hero's welcome.
''That's me right there,'' said Matos, one of the revolution's top five
commanders -- and the only one living in South Florida. The snapshot
shows a young, blue-eyed, bearded version of Matos atop a truck, next to
Fidel Castro and fellow rebel leader Camilo Cienfuegos.
It was to be a glorious day for Cuba, Matos recalled. Eight days
earlier, dictator Fulgencio Batista had fled the island, clearing the
way for the rebels to return democracy to the island, Matos believed.
Despite the euphoria, no one on the truck was smiling, said Matos.
As they entered Havana that January day, Castro's well-known paranoia
was in full swing, Matos said. 'He was convinced he would be killed by a
sniper from a rooftop as he entered Havana and that he would be turned
into a martyr of the revolution. He was obsessed with that idea. He kept
saying: `Huber, today could be the last day of my life. It's my destiny.' ''
Castro wanted his two commanders to ride shotgun with him. So despite
the festive mood along the streets of Havana, Matos and Cienfuegos were
armed with loaded M3 submachine guns as they crossed the capital.
'The entire way, Fidel kept saying: `Huber, keep an eye out,' '' Matos said.
The camaraderie between the three men didn't last long.
By October, Cienfuegos would die in a plane crash under suspicious
circumstances -- just a week after following orders from Castro to
arrest Matos for treason. Matos eventually served 20 years in prison for
rejecting a revolution he helped bring about but rejected after it
turned red and repressive.
What propelled Matos, a teacher, father and husband, to end up as a
conquering revolutionary began March 10, 1952 -- the day Batista staged
a coup and overthrew democratically elected President Carlos Prio Socarras.
'I remember I was teaching a class and the news came that there had been
a coup -- that Batista had forcibly taken over. To me that was like a
collective slap on the face of the Cuban people. How dare he. I was a
teacher but I told my students that day: `We must go out and protest.
This cannot be allowed to happen. Cuba is a democracy.' ''
Matos, in his mid-30s, gave up the classroom and took up arms against
the Batista forces, hiding with other rebels in Cuba's mountain ranges.
He soon earned a reputation as smart and fearless in the battlefield.
Matos and Castro were introduced through a mutual friend -- Celia
Sanchez, an influential revolutionary rumored to be Castro's lover and
his main promoter.
Matos drew Castro's attention by securing a cache of arms from Costa
Rica at a time when rebel forces were desperate for gun power. Sanchez
persuaded Matos to share the weapons.
''Fidel is the one we should all follow,'' Sanchez assured Matos. After
a shaky first meeting between the two men, Matos joined Castro's July 26
Movement and became a trusted commander charged with leading the fight
against Batista's forces in Santiago, the southeastern tip of the island.
''There were five of us who led the revolution,'' Matos said. The other
four: the Castro brothers, Ernesto ''Che'' Guevara and Cienfuegos.
After Batista left the island on New Year's Eve, Cuba had been waiting
for Castro and the other rebel leaders to arrive in Havana.
There had been mass celebrations throughout the country. Matos had been
honored at one event in Santiago, where his men had made a valiant
stand. He had been presented with an olive-colored rebel cap embossed
with a gold star. ''I was very touched by the gift; it meant a great
deal to me,'' Matos said.
Then on Jan. 6, Matos received word from Castro, who had not yet entered
Havana but was already making plans for the future of Cuba. He wanted
Matos, he wrote, to settle in Camaguey and turn it into a ''second
revolutionary stronghold.'' But first he wanted Matos to fly to Varadero
Beach and meet him there on Jan. 7.
''I want to enter Havana on Jan. 8 with you and Camilo by my side,''
Castro wrote. Although the Argentine rebel leader Che was popular with
Cubans, Castro always told Matos that Che could only climb so far:
''He's not a Cuban,'' he would say.
Che, nursing an injured arm, would not be part of the caravan.
Nor would Raúl Castro, who remained in Oriente and did not take part in
the victory procession.
Matos said he had a cordial relationship with Che, but Raúl Castro was
another story.
'He was petty, jealous of others' success, a liar and cheater. A guy who
you took an instant dislike to.''
Matos said that when he arrived at a naval base on Jan. 7 with his top
captains for a plane ride to Varadero, he was told that the only jet
available had been sent on a sudden mission. He could not get to Havana
to join Castro. ''Right away, I suspected Raúl,'' Matos said.
Unfazed, he found a two-seater B-52 on the base and recruited a pilot to
get him to Varadero. ``I made it there, but I had to leave behind my
captains. I took note of Raúl that day.''
Matos spent the night of Jan. 7 at a friend's house and then joined
Castro in the morning for the victory ride to Havana, where the streets
were lined with people. ``The procession was to be very long; we were
going to cross Havana and it would take hours.''
He remembers being greeted at the start by Prio Socarras, the president
who had been overthrown by Batista seven years earlier.
''He congratulated us for our work,'' Matos said. ``Everyone was
euphoric that day. The level of patriotism was at its max. Some of us
thought we had the future of our country in our hands. I can't recall
another time when the Cuban people were so together as we were on that
day. No one envisioned what would come. We didn't know yet the
revolution would be betrayed.''
Matos remembers mostly exhaustion, aggravation and a terrible headache
for the rest of the procession, caused by Castro's constant warning that
they would come under fire.
Adding to his irritation, Matos lost his prized cap when a throng of
people tried to touch the rebels as they passed.
''Everyone went for it. It was a memento from one of the rebels,'' said
Matos, who still hates having lost it. ``The celebration in Santiago had
meant more to me than the one entering Havana.''
By the end of the procession, Matos' head was throbbing. Castro was to
give a final speech and asked Matos to join him on stage.
''I refused,'' Matos said. ``I actually sat in a parked car and listened
to all his promises, which turned out to be lies. Castro was a great
actor, a faker. He fooled all of us.''
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/breaking-news/v-fullstory/story/843341.html
No comments:
Post a Comment