Past acts of terrorism perpetrated against Cuba in August were many – some of which resulted in injury and death aside from important material damage. Suffice to mention some of them here to give an idea of the gravity and criminality. Those responsible for these acts of terrorism today walk the streets of US cities with total impunity.

With the coming of August we Cubans anxiously look forward to rest and some vacation time with the family to recharge one’s batteries after a long year of work and study. And so tanned smiles beam on faces where accumulated fatigue is erased as if by magic. We can say that, taking advantage of our tropical climate, August is the month that brings on the most happiness in people here.

However, there are many houses in Cuba in which the month brings back heartbreaking memories – wounds that open again, never having really closed – especially remembering those who were in the flower of life and are no longer with us. This happened in some Cuban houses in which terror struck off the smiles where departed family members are remembered with flowers and a candle below a beloved portrait.

1960

August 6: One person is seriously injured after the La Palma, Pinar del Río sugar refinery “Niágara” (“Manuel Sanguily”) is fired upon from a small plane that originated in the United States.

August 26: Cane fields belonging to the “Violeta” (“Primero de Enero”), and “Cunagua” (“Bolivia”), in Ciego de Ávila, Camagüey, are set alight by incendiary bombs dropped from a small plane emanating from the US.

1961

August 5: A rural school in Madruga, Havana Province is set on fire.

August 11: A person is injured by a bomb set off in “Fin de Siglo” department store in Havana.

August 11: Cuban Embassy in Colombia is fired upon.

August 18: Eight people are wounded by terrorist bandits that attack a social club in Camagüey, also firing on a farm and a store.

August 23: A rural school in Pinar del Río province is attacked and burned.

1962
August 11: A gang of CIA agents are captured in Camagüey carrying arms and explosives for sabotage. The same day the department store “Fin de Siglo” is once more sabotaged resulting in the injury of a passer-by.

August 13: Cuban authorities reveal attack plans prepared at the US naval base of Guantánamo, including, first, an attack on Commander Raul Castro followed by a simultaneous artillery attack on an artillery emplacement of the Rebel Army with the expectation of provoking major armed conflict.

August 15: A number of CIA agents are captured carrying radio communications equipment with which they transmit the results of their sabotage and espionage operations.

August 20: A car driving on the San Pedro highway in Trinidad is fired upon by terrorists, injuring its driver.

August 22: The British cargo ship Streatham Hill sailing to the Soviet Union with 80,000 sacks of Cuban sugar, docks in San Juan, Puerto Rico for maintenance. To carry out the work 14,000 sacks are unloaded and stored in a customs warehouse where they are contaminated by terrorists.

August 24: The Havana coastline is shelled, damaging the Hotel Sierra Maestra (nine of its rooms receive a direct impact), the Chaplin Theater and some student residences. The operation was carried out by two naval craft that originated in the United States. The act is attributed to Isidro Borjas, Juan Manuel Salvat and Leslie Nóbregas – all terrorists of Cuban origin.

August 28: A young peasant from Matanzas is killed by a hidden grenade.

August 31: The administrator of a cane farm and his sister are wounded in Las Villas after being attacked by terrorists.

1963

August 01: Three Cuban fishing boats are attacked in the “El Sombrero” canal in Cayo Galindo, Matanzas, by an armored launch coming from the United States.

August 15: During the night, a plane drops two 50-pound bombs onto a sugar mill worker’s community at “Cunagua” (“Bolivia”) mill in Ciego de Ávila.

August 18: A plane originating from the United States bombs an oil depot in Casilda port, Sancti Spíritus. One of the rockets launched hits and ignites one of 24 wagons sitting on a railway line and another destroys a home.

1964

August 10: The Cuban merchant ship María Teresa is attacked by CIA agents in Montreal, Canada.

August 31: In Niquero, the “Adalberto Perón” cooperative is attacked, along with an observation post of the Revolutionary Naval Forces and the Cabo Cruz lighthouse, by an armed boat coming from the United States.

1965

August 15: Incendiary substances are thrown on the wall and gardens of the Cuban Embassy in Mexico, causing extensive damage.

1968

August 2: A fire is set off in the Cuban Embassy in Tokyo, Japan.

August 15: An AN-2 aircraft with 14 passengers on board is hijacked to Homestead Airport, Florida. The plane was returned.

August 25: A powerful explosive device is placed in the Trade Office of the Cuban Consulate in Milan, Italy.

1969

August 19: The Cayo Paredón lighthouse is machine-gunned from an armed boat in Ciego de Ávila.

August 25: A terrorist attempt is made against the Cuban United Nations Mission.

1973

August 21: The Cuban ambassador’s residence in London, England is attacked.

August 27: Three explosive devices are thrown at the residences of officials of the Cuban Trade office in Santiago de Chile, destroying a car and considerably damaging the buildings.

1974

August 6: An explosive device is detonated in the Cuban embassy, Kingston, Jamaica.

August 17: Shots are fired from a number of vehicles passing in front of the Cuban embassy in Lima, Peru.

1975

August 13: Shots are fired by FAL rifles at the Cuban ambassador to Argentina traveling in his car. The bullets hit the windshield.

1976
August 18: An explosive device is detonated in the Panama offices of Cubana Airlines, causing extensive damage.

1978

August 08: An explosive device is placed in the “Universidad” Theater in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where the National Cuban Ballet is performing.

1996

August 16: A small aircraft belonging to the Empresa Nacional de Servicios Aéreos in San Nicolás de Bari, Havana province, is hijacked by a group of individuals armed with a pistol and knife. They force the pilot to turn toward Florida, but the plane ditches in the Gulf of Mexico where the three kidnappers and pilot are rescued by the US Coast Guard. The pilot returns to Cuba. The plane was destroyed.

1997

August 03: Explosion in the Bahamas offices of Havanatur.

August 04: Bombs explode in the Hotel Meliá Cohiba in Havana.

August 11: The Miami press publishes a statement by the Cuban American National Foundation that supports these terrorist acts that use explosives against tourist targets in Cuba.

August 22: A bomb explodes in the Hotel Sol Palmeras, Varadero.

August of 1998 also brought its own terror. Prior to the announcement by President Fidel Castro of assistance to be given to the Dominican Republic on the occasion of the Summit of Caribbean heads of state, terrorist elements of Cuban origin planed an attack on him between 20-25 August. To organize the assassination attempt, Luís Posada Carriles met in the Guatemala City Holiday Inn Hotel on various occasions, between July 10 and 12, with terrorists Enrique Bassas, Ramón Font and Luis Orlando Rodríguez.

The first of these has a long history of financing terrorist activities. The second, Ramón Font, was an active terrorist member of Comandos L and trained by the CIA as an explosives expert. He participated in the attack on the Soviet ship Baku in March of 1963 and in the attack on the Bay of Cádiz lighthouse in 1964. The third, Luís Orlando Rodríguez is a CIA agent and former officer of the US Army, having vast experience in special operations.

This dangerous team of terrorists intended to assassinate Fidel Castro in one of three plans prepared simultaneously while the Cuban leader was in Santo Domingo. They sought to use explosives and two rocket launchers against him. To this end, Posada Carriles travelled to Nicaragua on March 26, 1998, entering the country through Managua’s Sandino airport using a Salvadorean passport (number 143258) in the name of Franco Rodríguez Mena. There, he contacted a number of Cuban counter-revolutionaries living in Estelí who promised to purchase a few kilos of C-4 plastic explosive and two RPG rocket launchers. Posada Carriles used $10,000 provided to him for this purpose by Arnaldo Monzón Plasencia, Director of the Cuban American National Foundation in Miami. He returned to Nicaragua on May 7 of the same year to take possession of the explosives and rocket launchers. This time he didn’t fly into the country but entered through Las Manos on the Honduran border.

In spite of these efforts by Posada Carriles and his friends, they were unable to carry out their plans, nor were they able to do so the following year in Panama when they made another plan to kill Fidel Castro.

This was a brief description of events leading to the pain suffered by Cubans in many months of August over the last forty years. It is a long list of criminal acts that has, if anything, strengthened resolve and ideas. In spite of such crimes, Cubans have not relinquished an inch. August has painful memories, but undoubtedly represents happier ones in the future.