2 Cubans Sentenced to Die for Killing Agents in Escape Attempt

The Cuban media on Thursday attempted to portray the people convicted in a bloody attempt to flee Cuba as criminals, drug takers and school dropouts.

The Havana Popular Tribunal on Wednesday sentenced two of them to die, and Prensa Latina, the official Cuban news agency, said two others would have received the same punishment if not for the fact that one is only 19 and the other is mentally retarded.

In all, nine people were sentenced for murder and piracy. They were accused of killing three Interior Ministry agents who surprised them as they attempted to steal a boat from the Tarara seaside camp near Havana on Jan. 9.

A fourth agent who survived reportedly identified Luis Miguel Almeida Perez, who worked at the camp. The agent remains in serious condition.

The condemned men--Almeida Perez, 27, and Rene Salmeron Mendoza, 22--had raped “various adolescents” before the escape attempt, Prensa Latina said.

A third defendant, Elias Perez Bocourt, 22, took part in the rapes, Prensa Latina said, but was spared the firing squad because he is “mildly retarded.” Bocourt was sentenced to 30 years.

The dispatch also portrayed the three men as chronic thieves who had stolen everything from a taxi to lamps and clothing.

Another defendant, Erick Salmeron Mendoza, 19, spent two years in prison for robbery and was unemployed at the time of the escape bid, Prensa Latina said. Because the death penalty is not applied to anyone under age 20, he received a 25-year prison term.

Prensa Latina said his mother, Maria Mendoza Marrero, 45, was a grade school dropout who “coordinated” the escape plan. She was sentenced to 15 years, as was Almeida Perez’s wife, Miderglis Ponce Casanova, 20, who was described as a drug-taking dropout.

Prensa Latina said she and her 4-year-old daughter had only one bottle of water and a thin blanket “because we thought the journey would be fast, like in the movies.”

Three other defendants joined the escape plan after failing to get U.S. visas, Prensa Latina said. Pedro Marcelino de la Rosa Guerra, 47; Enrique de la Rosa Guerra, 29, and his wife, Micaela Atencio de la Rosa, 37, were sentenced to 25, four, and 15 years, respectively.