BAY OF PIGS
Invasion vets suing Castro
46 years ago more than 100 men captured by Cuban militia "were were packed into a trailer normally used to transport tobacco leaves, outfitted so it sealed in moisture and kept out fresh air" following the failed Bay of Pigs invasion
Urine and excrement sloshed on the floor, and men and boys -- more than 100 men captured by Cuban militia -- took turns breathing fresh air out of a small hole someone punched in the truck's side.
When the truck stopped eight hours later in Havana, nine of the men inside were dead.
Today, Miami-based survivors of the invasion plan to file a lawsuit against Cuban military commander Osmany Cienfuegos, who they say gave the order to pack the men into the truck -- and Fidel Castro.
Because he has ceded head-of-state powers to his brother Raúl, Castro may no longer be immune to charges from the lawsuit, the group said. Cienfuegos, who is in his 70s, is a member of Raúl Castro's inner circle.
People who witnessed the truck ride claim they heard a Cuban officer warn Cienfuegos that the truck was overloaded and had no air.
''Let them die. I don't care,'' they remember Cienfuegos saying as he ordered the officer to shut the doors.
When the truck unloaded the men in a Havana stadium, Castro was there, witnesses said, and he saw the men's condition. Most of them were sent to Cuban prisons but were released about 18 months later as part of a deal with the United States.
Prying1 sez: They better hurry up with this lawsuit. With the condition Castro is in they don't have long...
I wonder how many movie stars will go testify in Castro's defense?
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Write in Cary Cartter for President in 2008
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