Fought Batista, then Castro as well

Posted on Sat, May. 13, 2006

EUSEBIO PEÑALVER MAZORRA
Fought Batista, then Castro as well
BY WILFREDO CANCIO ISLA
El Nuevo Herald

Cuban exile Eusebio Peñalver Mazorra, a pioneer of the armed resistance
against the government of Fidel Castro, died Thursday of cancer in
Miami. He was 69.

Peñalver, who spent 28 years in Cuban prisons refusing to undergo
political ''re-education,'' moved to Miami after his release in 1988 and
began to develop an intense effort in defense of political prisoners and
in support of the democratization of Cuba.

''In Peñalver you could always find bravery, determination and
friendship,'' said Angel De Fana, a former political prisoner and
director of the group Plantados [The Unyielding]. ``His name will be
recorded as that of a notable patriot in the history of our homeland.''

De Fana and Peñalver helped found Plantados, a group of former Cuban
political prisoners who carried out numerous campaigns against the
Castro regime, beginning in 1997.

Peñalver was born July 1, 1936, in the central Cuban province of Ciego
de Avila. In his youth, he joined the July 26 Movement, which sought the
overthrow of President Fulgencio Batista and in 1958 fought in the
Escambray rebel campaign.

By the time the revolution triumphed, in 1959, he held the rank of
lieutenant in the rebel army. But almost immediately he became
disillusioned with the process led by Castro.

In mid-1960, he returned to the Escambray mountains as a leader of the
anti-Castro guerrillas. He was captured a few months later and sentenced
to 30 years' imprisonment.

After serving 28 years as a plantado -- the name given to prisoners who
did not yield to punishment -- Peñalver was released and put in a plane
bound for the United States. He was not permitted to bid farewell to his
elderly parents.

Once in exile, he unceasingly denounced the Cuban government, condemning
it for ''its abuses against the black population'' of the island.

''I have no words to describe all they did to me in prison, not only for
struggling against the regime but also because of the color of my
skin,'' he said in a 2003 interview.

At the time of his death, Peñalver was president of the group Cuban Unity.

In his May Day speech last week, Castro referred to Peñalver as ''a
well-known terrorist'' and accused him of helping plan armed raids from
U.S. territory.

Peñalver is survived by his wife of three years, Francis. The couple had
no children.

Visitation begins at noon today at the Caballero Rivero Woodlawn funeral
home, Southwest Eighth Street and 34th Avenue. A religious ceremony will
be held Sunday at the same site.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/obituaries/14568952.htm