There are moments in life so hard and difficult that forgetting them is almost impossible, as it happens to those who remember with deep pain the October 6, 1976, for the horrendous Crime of Barbados.
This day the history of Cuba wore mourning. The destruction in mid-flight of a Cuban aviation plane claimed the lives of all 73 people on board.
As a result of this terrorist act, 57 Cubans, 11 Guyanese and five Koreans lost their lives.
Among the passengers who perished in the abominable attack were 24 members of the island’s youth fencing team, those who successfully competed in the IV Central American and Caribbean Championship of that sport, a contest in which they won all the titles; Those young people came happy for their successes and it is painful that murderous hands cut off their dreams in the most cruel way.
In mid-flight, the plane was destroyed by an explosive charge a few minutes after taking off from the Barbados airport. With indescribable heroism the brave and skilled pilots of the ship made a supreme effort to bring it back to the ground, but the team, burning and almost destroyed, could only remain in the air for a few more minutes.
The investigating commission and the Cuban expert Julio Lara Alonso demonstrated ad nauseam that the aircraft fell into the sea as a result of two explosions, the second in the back bathroom of the passenger cabin, which caused the demolition of the ship.
The Barbados Crime, which occurred 45 years ago, was led by Cuban terrorists Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch Ávila (1926-2011), wage earners of the United States Empire.
The Cuban people’s demand for justice has always been constant and systematic, and that is a battle that we must never tire of, Ileana Alfonso, daughter of Demetrio Alfonso, one of the victims of the Barbados crime, declared once to the Cuban News Agency.
She also mentioned that the best way to pay tribute to them is to remember who they were, both the athletes and the crew of the plane, so that they continue to be a reference for current and future generations of Cubans.
Barbados is one of the bloodiest and most painful acts that the largest of the Antilles has experienced. Only the courage of a leader, only the warmth of a wounded people, compact and firm after the news, kept the families of the victims standing.