Abel Santamaría Cuadrado (20 October 1927 – 26 July 1953) was a leader in the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...

ary movement.

Biography

Abel was born in

Encrucijada Encrucijada () is a municipality and town in the Villa Clara Province of Cuba. It was founded in 1850 and established as a municipality in 1910. History The municipality was divided into the barrios of Centro, Paso Real, El Santo and Vega Redo ...

Las Villas Las Villas is a natural region and ''comarca'' in Andalusia, southern Spain. It is located in the mountainous area at the eastern end of Jaén Province. The main town is Villacarrillo. Together with the Sierra de Cazorla and Sierra de Segura ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. He and his sister Haydée allowed revolutionaries including

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

to use their tiny two-room apartment on the corner of O and 25th streets in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

for planning the revolution. Abel and Haydee participated in the

Moncada barracks The Moncada Barracks was a military barracks in Santiago de Cuba, named after General Guillermo Moncada, a hero of the Cuban War of Independence. On 26 July 1953, the barracks was the site of an armed attack by a small group of revolutionaries ...

assault in July 1953 that was intended to start the revolutionary overthrow of Cuban dictator

Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...

. Fidel Castro assigned Santamaria with the mission of taking the Saturnino Lora Hospital as part of the assault. Santamaria initially objected with the thought that Castro was taking on the more dangerous mission, stating "you are most needed by everyone". Castro responded, "I am going to the garrison and you go to the hospital, because you are the soul of this movement, and if I die, you will take my place." The assault ultimately failed and both Abel and Haydée were imprisoned with many other revolutionaries. Abel was murdered in prison in

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

after being tortured by police to reveal the location where the other revolutionaries were hiding. It is said that the police removed Abel's eyes and showed them to Haydée, but she never revealed where the revolutionaries were. The

Abel Santamaría Airport Abel Santamaría Airport Data current as of October 2006. Source: DAFIF. ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto "Abel Santamaría" ) is an international airport serving Santa Clara, the capital city of the Villa Clara Province in Cuba. It was named after ...

in Santa Clara, Cuba is named for him.

References

External links

Bohemia Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santamaria, Abel 1927 births 1953 deaths People from Encrucijada People of the Cuban Revolution Cuban soldiers Cuban revolutionaries Cuban socialists Executed Cuban people Torture victims

Biography

See also

References

External links