Minister of Foreign Affairs Senator Maxine McClean, Wilfredo Pèrez Jr, son of the pilot who died in the 1976 Cubana Airline crash, Cuban Ambassador to Barbados, Lisette Pérez Pérez, Jose Gomez Febres, Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and Chinese Ambassador to Barbados Wei Qiang, yesterday at the Cubana Airlines memorial monument at Paynes Bay, in St. James
Cubana crash remembered
10/7/2011
By Tanya Lightbourne
This trip to Barbados has been a hard and difficult one but very necessary, expressed Wilfredo Pèrez Jr, son of the pilot who died in the 1976 Cubana Airline crash.
Addressing the ceremony yesterday at the Cubana memorial monument at Paynes Bay to mark the 35th anniversary of the deadly crash, he extended his appreciation to the Barbadians who worked tirelessly to help during that tragic day.
“I knew that at the time of the tragedy, dozens of Barbadian men and women came to lend their helping hands to potential survivors. Everything I keep for Barbados and its people is love and gratitude.”
Pèrez Jr recalled that around noon on October 6th 1976, 73 innocent lives were brutally massacred in a horrific terrorist act, stressing that it was indeed a terrorist act that shook the entire Caribbean which entered the history of terrorism; 25 years before the fateful September 11th, 2001 attacks.
Demanding that justice be served, he questioned why the United States government has not extradited the man behind the crash.
“I share the grief of the victims and I proclaim the right to demand justice.”
“The biggest and confessed terrorist of this hemisphere, the detestable Luis Posada Carriles, is walking free on the streets of Miami. He boasts of his actions and nobody dares to bother him. Why hasn’t he been extradited to Venezuela where he has pending legal proceedings for murder and other crimes?”
“US authorities may have strong reasons. But they are obliged to answer that. There can be no good terrorism and bad terrorism when it kills innocent human beings,” he stressed.
Pèrez further revealed that the crash led him to study psychology and for 26 years, he has been assisting those in need.
“This is the best tribute to the legacy of my father, the common man, who fought heroically until the last moment to save the lives of the passengers and crew. His chilling voice in the last contact with the Seawell control tower is at the heart of my dreams and hopes.”
Also during the ceremony, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Senator Maxine McClean, joined Pèrez Jr, the Cuban Ambassador to Barbados, Lisette Pérez Pérez, Jose Gomez Febres, Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Chinese Ambassador to Barbados Wei Qiang, members of the diplomatic corps and representatives of other organisations, in laying wreaths at the memorial site.
