Those who participated in the pilgrimage denounced that the U.S. continues to encourage terrorist acts committed by counterrevolutionary groups established in its territory.     Photo: ACN  

Havana, October 7 (RHC)-- Thousands of Cubans participated this Sunday in a pilgrimage in Havana to commemorate the 48th anniversary of the event known as the Barbados crime, when counterrevolutionaries encouraged by the United States (U.S.) government blew up a commercial plane of the largest of the Antilles in mid-flight, near the coasts of the Caribbean island, and caused the death of its 73 travelers.

The pilgrimage took place at the Colon Cemetery in Havana.  It was attended by representatives of Cuban political and social organizations, relatives of the victims of the attack and diplomats from Caribbean nations.

Cuban sportswoman Yarisleidis Cirilo, a multiple Olympic and world champion in canoeing, recalled details of the episode, considered one of the most brutal expressions of State terrorism promoted by the White House against revolutionary Cuba.

Cirilo stressed that the entire world recognizes the role played by Cuba in confronting terrorism and emphasized that the Caribbean nation does not give in to U.S. aggressions against its territorial integrity.

Also  in the Barbadian capital, Bridgetown, the official ceremony to commemorate the events of October 6, 1976 took place Sunday morning.  Government personalities, members of the diplomatic corps, members of the Cuba-Barbados Friendship Association and others gathered in front of the monument erected to remember the victims of the crime. The second anniversary of the Caricom-Cuba Day against Terrorism was also commemorated.

The Cuban ambassador in Bridgetown, Yanet Stable Cárdenas, said that the hatred, intolerance and fanaticism that fueled that act are still rampant and are embodied in the genocide perpetrated by Isral against nations in the Middle East.

Stable Cárdenas also denounced the threats to the Cuban Revolution, the acts of aggression under the economic, commercial and financial blockade against the largest of the Antilles and the inclusion of Cuba, without arguments or evidence, in the list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism.

The Consul General of Guyana in Barbados, Geneva Ross-Tyndall, the Deputy Secretary General of Caricom, Wayne McCookel and the Ambassador of Barbados to this organization, David Comissiong, also took part in the event.

They called for an end to the blockade against Cuba and the exclusion of the Caribbean nation from the list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism.

Freddy Lugo and Hernán Ricardo Lozano carried out the attack - in which 57 Cubans, 11 Guyanese and five North Koreans died - after placing two explosive devices in the cockpit of the Cuban plane, which was flying between Barbados and Havana.

The terrorist attack was planned by Cuban counterrevolutionaries Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch Avila. Both died in the U.S. without being prosecuted for the crime by the U.S. justice system, despite abundant evidence.