In a live discussion on CiberCuba, Cuban writer Zoé Valdés disclosed that after the tragic sinking of the "13 de Marzo" tugboat, Fidel Castro publicly admitted to ordering the attack during an eight o'clock news broadcast.
Valdés shared her account on a program hosted by Tania Costa, which aired on July 13, 2026, marking the 32nd anniversary of the horrific event where 37 to 41 people, including 10 children, lost their lives. The incident occurred seven miles off the coast of Havana when four state-owned tugboats assaulted the vessel.
"That night on the eight o'clock news, Fidel Castro confessed that he had given the order to sink the tugboat," Valdés recounted. At the time, she was in Cuba with her young daughter and witnessed the aftermath on the Malecón, where photos and videos captured the moment.
Valdés described the profound impact of Castro’s public admission on those around her. "For the first time, I felt a collective silence of shock within the same neighborhood, the same building, knowing it was yet another mass murder, this time of children."
The Contradiction with Official Accounts
Castro's admission starkly contradicted the regime's official narrative maintained over the years. During a three-hour television broadcast on August 5, 1994, Castro praised the actions of the "lanchita de Regla" workers as a "truly patriotic effort," claiming they acted independently to prevent theft of their vessel. He later personally awarded them honors.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights documented the deliberate attack in its Report No. 47/96, yet justice remains elusive. No one has been held accountable for the atrocity.
International Impunity and Unanswered Justice
Valdés, who is presenting her book "Cuba, y ahora la libertad" on July 25 at the Hialeah Library, emphasized the global impunity shielding the perpetrators for over three decades. She recalled an unsuccessful lawsuit by victims' families in Madrid during the time judge Baltasar Garzón was pursuing similar cases against Pinochet, and another dismissed case in France against Castro.
"The horrifying reality is the global conspiracy to silence this," she asserted. "How can it be that these lawsuits were never accepted, like the one from France against Fidel Castro? It's inconceivable."
From Miami, Valdés spoke of a father who lost his infant and wife in the incident. Political scientist Julio Shiling, who joined the discussion with César Reynel Aguilera, named Jorge García Más as the man who lost 14 family members in the disaster. García Más passed away in Miami on June 2, 2024, after three decades seeking justice.
Shiling described the sinking as "a tremendous atrocity," framing it as a deliberate act of state terrorism. "If anyone wants to understand the necessity of state terrorism for a dictatorship to maintain power, it’s through actions like this. Such terror aims to subdue the population."
He linked the crime to other acts by the Castro regime, such as the Canímar River massacre, the Loma de San Juan incident, and the downing of the Brothers to the Rescue planes, arguing that they all follow a systematic logic of terror.
Valdés concluded her remarks with a poignant statement: "For this reason, there can be no forgiveness, in my view."
Understanding the Sinking of the "13 de Marzo" Tugboat
What was the "13 de Marzo" tugboat incident?
The "13 de Marzo" tugboat incident was a tragic event where a Cuban vessel was intentionally sunk by state-owned tugboats, resulting in the deaths of 37 to 41 people, including 10 children.
How did Fidel Castro allegedly respond to the incident?
According to Zoé Valdés, Fidel Castro admitted on a live news broadcast that he ordered the sinking of the tugboat, a statement that contradicted the regime's later claims of independent action by workers.
Has anyone been held accountable for the tugboat sinking?
No one has been brought to justice for the sinking of the "13 de Marzo" tugboat, despite documentation by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights indicating the attack was intentional.