The Humboldt 7 massacre in Cuban history

Havana, April 20 (RHC)-- Sixty-five years ago as part of the hunt for the assailants of Cuba's Presidential Palace, the police located and killed four young revolutionaries, hiding in a Havana apartment.

According to historical documents, the massacre took place in building number 7 of Humboldt Street, in the Vedado neighborhood and one month after the attack on the Presidential Palace and the Radio Reloj radio station (March 13, 1957).

With both assaults led by the Revolutionary Directorate and led by its main figure José Antonio Echeverría, the students were seeking the end of the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who since the 1952 coup d'état had run the country in a corrupt and repressive manner.

Survivors of that failed action: Fructuoso Rodríguez (24 years old), Juan Pedro Carbó Serviá (31 years old), José Machado Rodríguez (Machadito) (24 years old) and Joe Westbrook (20 years old) hid in safe houses after the search unleashed by the police.

Due to a tip-off, Captain Esteban Ventura arrived at the Humboldt 7 building with enough police to surround and surprise the boys.

According to testimonies of the time, Carbo tried to flee through the elevator and was viciously machine-gunned, while Joe Westbrook jumped into a second floor apartment and sat in the living room next to his neighbor as if he were a visitor, but was discovered and killed at point-blank range.

Fructuoso and Machadito managed to run to the end of the hallway and jump out a window.

However, the eight-meter fall caused the former to lie unconscious and the latter was left with both ankles broken, unable to move. Both were killed with Thompson submachine gun fire.

The four young men were dragged by the hair from the place where they were killed to the sidewalk in front of the building, they were exhibited for a few minutes and thrown on a truck.

In Cuba this massacre is remembered as one of the worst crimes of the Batista dictatorship and every year the University Student Federation pays homage to the four young revolutionaries.