There were 73 passengers on that flight. History records that the aircraft crashed near the coast of Barbados just minutes after takeoff. There were no survivors.
On board were 57 Cubans whose lives became a memory when two bombs, hidden inside the plane, sealed their fate.
The objective? To annihilate innocent people—the majority of them Cubans.
Among the deceased were the 24 members of the national youth fencing team, who were returning to Cuba after winning every gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean Championships; several of them were not even 20 years old.
For this reason, October 6 has never been merely a date in the past for Cuba; Cuban youth, holding a vigil for the 50th anniversary, have embraced the indelible scar left by state- terrorism.
"We do not forget that justice remains pending. We will not allow history to be erased, nor pain to turn into silence. We will not allow impunity to masquerade as oblivion," said Elisbel Durán Borroto, a member of the National Bureau of the Young Communist League. "We remember the victims of the Barbados bombing to reaffirm that terrorism will never be the path, and that solidarity among peoples is the only road to peace," she added.
The vigil was attended by Marydé Fernández López, head of the Party Central Committee’s Office for Liaison with the UJC and mass organizations; Meyvis Estévez Echevarría, First Secretary of the UJC; and other Party and government officials from the capital.
Today, the tribute continues for those whom Fidel—during those unforgettable days of sorrow—called symbols of the fight against terrorism.
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