Articles

Terrorism against Cuba began immediately after the Revolution

In the face of this new hate crime, we cannot help but remember our compatriots cut down in the past while fulfilling their duty, including Felix Garcia (pictured) shot on a New York street, September 11, 1980. Photo: Granma Archives
In the face of this new hate crime, we cannot help but remember our compatriots cut down in the past while fulfilling their duty, including Felix Garcia (pictured) shot on a New York street, September 11, 1980. Photo: Granma Archives

Date: 

06/05/2020

Source: 

Periódico Granma

Author: 

A "mentally disturbed" individual drives his vehicle 100 miles with an assault rifle and ammunition, stops in the middle of the night in the heart of Washington, a short distance from the White House, and opens fire on an embassy - obviously a very lucid madman, capable of planning and carrying out such an attack.

A "mentally disturbed" individual drives his vehicle a hundred miles with an assault rifle and ammunition, stops in the middle of the night in the heart of Washington D.C., a short distance from the White House, and opens fire on an embassy.
 
He offers no resistance to police once the planned attack is over. Yes, planned, because according to what he told authorities in charge of the investigation -cited by Cuba Money Project - approximately two weeks earlier he had driven back and forth, from Pennsylvania, to the street where Cuba's diplomatic headquarters is located to verify the route, armed with his AK-47.
 
"His actions show advance planning, evidenced by his previous travel to the embassy to verify the route in the weeks prior to the attack, as well as incredible dedication and commitment to harming others," the Cuba Money Project notes.
 
Alexander Alazo told police he had a Glock 19 he bought in Texas and traded it for an AK-47 in Loudoun County about a month ago.
 
He is obviously a very lucid "madman," capable of planning, organizing and acting with a fair amount of consistency, preparation and caution.
 
It is difficult to imagine that all this information, immediately and "inexplicably" leaked on social media and to the press following the events, could be the result of carelessness or chance, as investigators say.
 
As Cuban ambassador Jose Ramon Cabañas rightly points out in a recent interview with Prensa Latina in response to the events: "In the United States not just any information is leaked, only that which high-level officials want to be leaked."
 
We have reason to believe that someone is very interested in sowing a particular view of what happened on April 30, making us think that it was the work of a "lunatic," someone who wanted to build his own coven of pain and death.
 
Thirty-two shots were fired at the building; ten bullets went through glass windows into the lobby in several directions. By pure chance, no one inside was injured.
 
The man who attacked the Cuban embassy told U.S. authorities, “If I had seen anyone leave the embassy, even the ambassador, I would have shot him because he is the enemy.”
 
The history of terrorism against Cuba has precisely the same age as the Revolution. Dozens of violent attacks have been committed on our embassies, companies, headquarters of international organizations, aircraft and diplomatic officials, motivated by the rage, hatred, frustration and impotence of the enemies of the Cuban people.
 
In the face of this new hate crime, we cannot help but remember our compatriots cut down in the past, Félix García, Adriana Corcho, Efrén Monteagudo, Jesús Cejas, Crescencio Galañena and many others.
 
Prosecutors handling the case asked that Alazo be held until his trial, as a danger to society. During the arrest hearing before Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey on May 4, Alazo's lawyer requested his release pending trial. The judge denied the motion and ordered that Alazo remain behind bars.
 
While Cuba hopes that one day dialogue will prevail in relations between the two countries, despite our enormous political differences; for the moment, regarding this serious act of evident terrorism, we only expect, as Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has stated, "an exhaustive and rapid investigation, severe sanctions and the security measures and guarantees for our diplomatic missions in the United States, as stipulated in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961."