°. MORE-
FACTS ON THE KILLING OF CUBAN SENTRY...
The May 29 issue of the English edition ‘of Granma, the official’ tonean of the Central Committee of the Communist par party of Cuba, provides further details about the killing of Iuvis Ramirez Lépez, the Cuban sentry on duty at the Guantanamo frontier, which show how brazenly the State Department lied about the circumstances of the murder.” i
. According te. “the: ‘State Department, "On May.21, about 7:10 p-n., an armed Cuban soldier was observed within the boundaries of: Guan-": tanamo Naval Base. A warning shot, fired by a U.S. guard, was ignored by the Cuban. When the infiltrator ignored the warning shot, a second shot was fired, Mounding the Cuban."
Then the "intruder," although wounded, leaped over the fence and escaped. a
‘i! With sketches and photographs, Granna shows how ridiculous this “version is.
“Ontong: ‘thé "perimeter of ‘the Naval Base, the Americans put up © a high wire fence. This is topped with barbed wire. Within the © fence they planted a mine field. Between the mine field and the fence they left room for a roadway that is patrolled by trucks or jeeps loaded with armed troops.
Because they feared provocations, the Cubans cleared a wide area on their side of the American fence. They then planted a heavy row of cactus. This is followed by three barbed wire fences. The area between the three fences is filled with a tangle of barbed wire. Beyond this the Cuban sentries are posted. in blockhouses.
The post where Ramirez was stationed is on a hill overlooking all these barriers.
Ramirez was shot through the back. The bullet entered near the top of the right lung, traveled upward and came out at the front of the neck, piercing the aortic arch. He died within moments. Two other sentries, on duty with him, at once notified Frontier Battalion Headquarters.
The trajectory of the shot showed that it was fired from near the American patrol road.
As previously reported (see World Outlook June 10], a number of journalists who visited the scene of the murder, were completely convinced that the American version was a lie.
Faced with the impossibility of explaining (1) why a lone Cuban soldier would want to go inside the heavily guarded Naval | Base, (2) how, after being wounded, he.could scale all the barriers before dying, (3) how the shot could have ranged upward if it was
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fired as ¢lained “by ‘the State. Department, Washington reacted in typical fashion. It escalated the size of the lie.
WES The. Pentagon claimed that six Cuban: soldiers had entered —“Quanténamo - on: May 23. According ta the Pentagon, : they opened fire against American. Sentries « The sentries returned the fire. » The™ . vo Cubans. then fled-: t wi at
“The. only tangible fact in this ghostlike sequence is. that the story was released to the press on May 27, the day following the - Visit of. thirty journalists from sixteen countries to the: Scene of _ the. Marden - Of. wais Ramirez opeze oe 7a P94 aoee dn an ‘effort to give force. to: “thes "counterpropaganda,, " Dean Rusk even said May 27 that the U.S. government would "protest" the "intrusion" by the mysterious six Cubans. Rusk told a press confer- .sence that ."the,Cubans must stop these incidents by remaining outside the zone. It will be better for all concerned."
: It was the glaringly provocative nature of this move by the State Department that led the Cuban government to at once éall.a state of alert and to order the "adoption of all necessary measures - for: moving immediately into a: : Stake | of Combat Alarn if. ‘circumstance so require." eesti oe eae .
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