Author Topic: Woman sues Cuba for Bay of Pigs execution! (Read 524 times)

gofaster · « **on:** October 03, 2003, 10:05:17 AM »

And how, exactly, did Cuba violate any laws? And how, exactly, does she plan to recover whatever awards she gets? and how, exactly, does a US court have jurisdiction in Cuba? And what assets does Cuba have in the US after all these years?

I think its a publicity stunt, but I'm not sure what it is she's trying to publicize.

More likely, she's suing to win now, on the recent rumors that trade may be opened back up with Cuba and she can collect her awards when there's Cuban money to be had.

http://www.stpetersburgtimes.com/2003/10/03/State/Executed_CIA_pilot_s_.shtml

Executed CIA pilot's daughter sues Cuba
Thomas "Pete" Ray was shot down during the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. His frozen body was held by Cuba for 18 years.
By Associated Press
Published October 3, 2003

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MIAMI - The daughter of a CIA pilot shot down and executed during the Bay of Pigs invasion filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Cuban government under an antiterrorism law.

Alabama National Guard pilot Thomas "Pete" Ray became a pawn in the cold war when Cuba put his body in cold storage and kept it there for 18 years while the United States officially denied he was authorized to be in Cuba.

Ray's body was returned in 1979, but it wasn't until 1998 that the CIA acknowledged his role in the failed attempt to oust President Fidel Castro in 1961.

"We didn't know if he was dead or alive. It was like our whole family was held hostage to this," Ray's daughter Janet Weininger said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit at a Bay of Pigs memorial in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood.

A call for comment to the Cuban Interests Section in Washington was not immediately returned.

Ray trained six dozen pilots for the invasion flights from Nicaragua to Cuba. His B-26 was shot down less than 48 hours after the first landing.

An autopsy performed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham concluded Ray died of a gunshot wound to the right temple.

His frozen body was displayed at a Cuban morgue in a glass case "as an exhibit, as a reward," Weininger said. "They would at times spit in his face."

Starting at age 15, she wrote more than 200 letters to Castro asking about her father.

The wrongful death lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages under federal laws against summary executions by state sponsors of terrorism. The suit names the Cuban government, the Cuban army, Castro and his brother Raul Castro as defendants.

In recent lawsuits against Cuba, the Cuban government has not defended itself and lost by default. Damage awards can be collected by the seizure of Cuban assets in the United States.

miko2d · « **Reply #1 on:** October 03, 2003, 11:42:46 AM »

She would likely not win.

Since US did not declare war on Cuba and denied he was authorized to be in Cuba, he was not legally an enemy combatant but a foreign terrorist.

miko

gofaster · « **Reply #2 on:** October 03, 2003, 11:47:09 AM »

You raise a very good point, and you are exactly correct.

Unfortunately, nobody will stand in court to defend Cuba, so the defendant will lose based on a failure to file an answer to the claim. She may win her case if it doesn't get thrown out of court because of jurisdictional issues, but I don't think she'll get any money out of it. That's why I'm thinking she's just either doing it for publicity or because she's thinking that the trade embargo will be lifted.

miko2d · « **Reply #3 on:** October 03, 2003, 12:02:54 PM »

gofaster: Unfortunately, nobody will stand in court to defend Cuba, so the defendant will lose... but I don't think she'll get any money out of it.

I am almost sure that Cuba does not have any assets in US to confiscate.

But there is another approach. She should sue the US government for not admitting he was a US soldier POW and letting him be shot as a common criminal.

miko

wulfie · « **Reply #4 on:** October 03, 2003, 12:16:25 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by miko2d
She would likely not win.

Since US did not declare war on Cuba and denied he was authorized to be in Cuba, he was not legally an enemy combatant but a foreign terrorist.

miko

Or you could say that he was flying in support of Cuban citizens fighting against a person who had taken control of Cuba by force and was not a part of any legitimate government.

Calling him a terrorist is (Intentionally? You've lost a little class as of late, which I find to be a little disappointing considering some of the discussions we have had) inaccurate. He was engaged in combat against the armed forces of the dictator who overthrew the elected government of Cuba. A spy - yes, but terrorist is an incorrect term.

On a lighter note, you can get 99% of the CIA files on the 'Bay of Pigs' operation at the 'FOIA reading room' (it's on the internet). I think you'll find them to be interested reading. There's a lot of 'mental sorting' required because you are reading actual scanned documents however. Be prepared for a 'longer' reading experience than usual.

Mike/wulfie

miko2d · « **Reply #5 on:** October 03, 2003, 02:12:50 PM »

wulfie,

Please, don't put a spin on my words hoping that others are too lazy to scroll up and see what I actually said.
Well, they probably are, so here it is: "Since US did not declare war ... he was not legally an enemy combatant but a foreign terrorist." - meaning he was legally a "foreign terrorist".

I was pointing out his legal status within Cuban (international?) jurisdiction, not issuing opinion about his character.
I am sure he was a brave soldier who was told "If you get captured we will deny any knowlege of you and you will be shot as a criminal" and he likely said "I am ready to face that possibility for the sake of oppressed Cuban people" rather then "I expect cubans to keep me safe if captured and sue the pants off them if they dare harm me".

According to a report he was flying a B-26. That is a combat plane and if it had any weaponry or ordnance on it (which I do not know), then it was participating in an armed invasion/insurrection outside the rules of war.
So he would be not a spy, collecting information, but an illegal combatant.
Even if he was a spy, he had no legal standing since his government did not recognise or took responcibility for his actions - which could have insured his exchange.

support of Cuban citizens fighting against a person who had taken control of Cuba by force and was not a part of any legitimate government.

True. But it would be a good point for US to declare war on Cuba, not to use illegal methods and treat the US soldiers as scapegoats.

I am not sympathetic to Cuban government here - they are supposed to be evil. Our government isn't. I understand need for secrecy in intelligence-gethering operations but an invasion is a kind of a public event.
Abandoning our soildiers just so a president did not have to admit a failure is plain wrong.

miko

wulfie · « **Reply #6 on:** October 03, 2003, 03:29:46 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by miko2d
wulfie,

Please, don't put a spin on my words hoping that others are too lazy to scroll up and see what I actually said.
...I am sure he was a brave soldier who was told "If you get captured we will deny any knowlege of you and you will be shot as a criminal" and he likely said "I am ready to face that possibility for the sake of oppressed Cuban people" rather then "I expect cubans to keep me safe if captured and sue the pants off them if they dare harm me".

According to a report he was flying a B-26. That is a combat plane and if it had any weaponry or ordnance on it (which I do not know), then it was participating in an armed invasion/insurrection outside the rules of war.
So he would be not a spy, collecting information, but an illegal combatant.
Even if he was a spy, he had no legal standing since his government did not recognise or took responcibility for his actions - which could have insured his exchange.

support of Cuban citizens fighting against a person who had taken control of Cuba by force and was not a part of any legitimate government.

True. But it would be a good point for US to declare war on Cuba, not to use illegal methods and treat the US soldiers as scapegoats.

I am not sympathetic to Cuban government here - they are supposed to be evil. Our government isn't. I understand need for secrecy in intelligence-gethering operations but an invasion is a kind of a public event.
Abandoning our soildiers just so a president did not have to admit a failure is plain wrong.

miko

I wasn't trying to spin anything, but I did misunderstand you and I'm glad I did (i.e. I'm glad you weren't saying what I thought you were saying).

The pilots were USAF who were 'sheep dipped' from active duty for the missions or they were former USAF who were hired by the CIA. For what it's worth the DoD was totally against the op once it 'ballooned out of control', something which CIA never passed on to the President and his immediate advisors.

Read 'The Very Best Men' - it's the story of the CIA from OSS thru the war in Vietnam and the author was given access to official CIA reports, documents, histories, etc. They cover the Bay of Pigs in great detail.

Mike/wulfie