Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-23
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Continued From First Page
He died before a firing squad
last Wednesday.
Five Of his soldiers were ex-
ecuted for the massacre Of 10
persons at one village.
Convicted Of 20 Killings
The revolutionary govern
ment made no attempt to prove
its entire case against Sosa
Blanoo. The prosecution rested
after calling 81 Of its 90 wit
riesses. The testimony, circum-
stantial and direct, concerned
20 assassinations and homi-
cides.
Nine Of the victims were
members Of one family sus-
pected Of being rebel sympa-
thizers near Bayamo In Oriente
Province. This was the family
Of farm worker Martin Ar
cote who was machine-gunned
by soldiers as Sosa Blanco stood
by, witnesses testified.
Miguel Llorente, the tenth
person in the Argote family
lineup, survived through a
freakish incident-he tainted
and fell a split second before
the soldiers fired.
Questioned on his Qualifica-
tons as an eyewitness, Mr.. Llo-
rente told the court:
mo, I didn't see the shoot
ing. AL I know is / was alive
in front Of the guns. expecting
to be dead in minutes. Then ]
woke up with all the others
dead around me-"
Balky Soldier Executed
The defense, seeking to show
the Argotes were victims of a
battle between rebels and
troops, noted that the body OF
a soldier was found near Ar
gote's.
But Mr.. Llorente testified the
soldier was executed under Sosa
Blanco's orders when he baked
at firing on the family.
Exit. Valeriano Dupeyron
Silva and three soldiers were
condemned to death on con-
viction of torturing and hang
ing four Havana University stu
dents December 28-just four
days before Batista fed.
The Rev Amado Llorente of
the Association of Catholic
University students, to which
the youth belonged, was trial
witness. He had led a group in
search for the bodies of the
students. all 20 to %.
He said the group went un-
armed December 26 to find
members of the civic resistance
to the Batista regime. They
sought to offer help in sup
plying medicine, clothing and
food from Havana-"a patriotic
and humanitarian gesture"
Bodies Hsaped in Mound
A search was organized when
the students did not return.
A drunken soldier at Pinar
Del Rio told of some youths
being tortured and killed. Ha-
vana relatives heard of this.
Witnesses testified soldiers
picked up the youths December
rs, questioned and tortured
them and hanged them Deem
Der 20.
Father Llorente and friends
found the bodies heaped in a
mound and covered by about
four inches of dirt.
During the search, he said,
they discovered other mounds
Containing groups Of 80. so
and 80, all victims apparently
of the inhuman repression at
Pinar Del Rio by INSCRIPTIONS
agents without the least feeling
of charity"
Havana Bar Association and
Supreme Court officials say bru-
tally spilled over the generally
wide boundaries of political re-
preston. Police, their authority
unquestioned, had a free hand.
Judicial Arm Thwarted
A case from the files of the
Supreme Court Magistrate
Francisco Alabau TrelleS shows
how the judicial arm of his
government was thwarted:
Hans Kensin Klein, SIS, a
German engineer on a con-
struction project near Santiago,
failed to show up for work.
That same day in 1854 Capt.
Alexandra Garcia Olayon went
nan