Senator Dr. Esther Byer- Suckoo, Minister of Labour and Human Resource Development (third left); joins Her Excellency Mrs Lisette Perez Perez, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to Barbados (second left); and her daughter Carolina in paying their respects at the Cubana monument yesterday to mark the 37th Anniversary of the crash of the Cubana Airlines flight off Barbados.

Yesterday marked the 37th Anniversary of the crash of Cubana Flight CU 455 off the West Coast of Barbados.

To commemorate the tragic terrorist act, the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in Barbados, Government officials, members of the Barbadian Solidarity Movement to Cuba, and Cubans living in Barbados gathered at the specially dedicated Cubana Monument at Paynes Bay St James, to pay tribute to the 73 innocent persons who lost their lives.

Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to Barbados, Her Excellency Mrs Lisette Perez Perez, pointed out that what happened to the Cubana passenger plane on October 6, 1976 was not an isolated incident.

“The cruelty of a 50-year war of terror against Cuba is abhorrent. Since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, terrorists have murdered 3 478 Cubans and incapacitated 2 099 others.”

She went on to acknowledge that the masterminds behind of the attack, Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles were never convicted for this criminal act.

“Bosch passed away peacefully in Miami, where he lived in complete freedom [and] impunity, after being granted presidential pardon by George Bush, which was negotiated by the Cuban far-right wing. A similar treatment was given to the other perpetrator of this abominable crime. Carriles was neither charged nor prosecuted in the United States,” she recalled.

Ambassador Perez also took the opportunity to thank the people and Government of Barbados for their support.

“There is a history of injustice in the waters of Paradise Beach in Barbados. The cold–blooded murder of the people on board that passenger plane was a crime against them, their families, and their countries. It was also a crime against Barbados and its people,” she stressed.

Senator Dr. Esther Byer- Suckoo, Minister of Labour and Human Resource Development, expressed that though 37 years have passed, the memory of the tragedy remains etched in everyone’s minds.

“We continue to remember those who were lost and we continue to call for justice. I reaffirm that the Government of Barbados stands in solidarity with all of you and against acts of terrorism and injustice whenever and wherever they occur. The monument remains a telling symbol that we who were touched by this tragedy will never forget it, as we remember those who we mourn today,” she expressed.