Rolando Masferrer
Encyclopedia
Rolando Masferrer Rojas born in Holguín
, July 12, 1918, in Oriente province, better known simply as Rolando Masferrer, was a Cuba
n guerrilla
leader, lawyer, congressman, newspaper publisher, member of the Cuban Communist Party and political activist. He was killed in Miami, United States
, on October 31, 1975.
brigade in the Spanish civil war
and he also was a member of Cuba's Communist Party. He was wounded in the left foot in Spain, and in Europe is said to have been an enforcer
for International Brigades
much feared for the thumping of his wounded gait when he approached his victim .
in the bloody feuds of the trigger happy action group
s and subject of at least one failed attempt by Castro to kill him. Masferrer also participated, with Castro, in the Caribbean Legion
plot Cayo Confites (See Ameringer, 1995) to overthrow Dominican Republic Dictator Rafael Trujillo. He was elected to the Cuban House of Representatives in 1949.
. He was not only a Senator in the Batista government but more importantly the leading founder of Los Tigres de Masferrer, a guerrilla organization set up to protect Batista from other para-military groups and to support Batista militarily. In this period he published two papers Tiempo in Havana and Libertad in Santiago de Cuba which insulted Francisco Franco
, but without positive reaction among other leftwing Spanish Civil war exiles.
During the final years of the last Batista regime to (the end of 1958), Masferrer and his tigres operated in Oriente province; often, it is said, out headquarters in Victoria de las Tunas, others say in Santiago, Manzanillo and Bayamo where he had an array of exotic weapons including very lethal large caliber “air rifles.” At times his followers penetrated the Sierra Maestra with stealthy silence, terrifying some local Escopeteros
who without time to react or appropriated weapons to face him fled before his forces; then the “tigres” vanished. In this fashion the Tigres apparently too stealthy to be opposed raided and killed throughout the foot hills of the Sierra Maestra. He is known to have threatened Franciscan priests in Manzanillo (de Paz, pp. 81–82). The present Cuban government accuses Masferrer of 2,000 killings, but also says that the Tigres were careful to remove all evidence.
A most ingenious and intelligent, if ruthless, man Masferrer, plotted to buy vast “La Hacienda Sevilla” and divide up the land so as to reward the local guajiros for informing on Fidel Castro in the first months of his operations in the Sierra Maestra. This connection may or may not explain the attempted betrayal of Castro by Agrarian Organizer Eutemio Guerra.
Regardless that Masferrer had been a Communist supporter, after Fidel Castro
took over Cuba's presidency on January 9, 1959, Masferrer had to abandon the island, because Castro accused him of stealing US $10 million. He left in a boat, landing in Miami
.
, he befriended Mafia
bosses such as Santo Trafficante
, as well union leader Jimmy Hoffa
. He established the 30th of November organization, with the purpose of killing
Castro. Masferrer was also known for mistreating Cubans residing in Florida
, extorting money from them for what he said was "to help Cuba".
From Miami, according to some reports, he and Central Intelligence Agency
member Richard Bissell
planned an assassination attempt on Castro. But, seventy seven days after Castro had assumed power, the would-be assassins that had been sent to Cuba, were arrested by Cuban police, and the attempt failed.
Shortly after, Masferrer organized another group to try a second attempt on Cuba's leader. Among them was the infamous Armentino Feria Perez.
September 26, 1960 Masferrer sent an expedition of four boats to Cuba. One boat reached Cuba, three Americans: Allan D. Thompson, Anthony Zarba and Robert O. Fuller were caught and eventually executed
In December, 1960, the Miami Herald, reported that Masferrer was leading a small group of fifty three people who were polishing their killing skills at a ranch owned by multi-millionaire Howard Hughes
. Masferrer might have intended to hire a few of them for his organization.
In the early 1960s, Masferrer was associated with El Tiempo, a Spanish-language newspaper, edited by S. Ross, in New York City.
In 1961, Masferrer met with President John F. Kennedy
, presumably to talk about Castro and the situation in Cuba. But Kennedy disliked Masferrer's radical and fanatical personality, and the two never established any publicly known conversation after that.
In the 1960s Masferrer plotted and accumulated weapons to invade Haiti
so as to have a base, free of US law, to attack the Castro government of Cuba which had foiled direct attempts to land.
Masferrer was killed by a car bomb
in 1975.
Holguín
Holguín is a municipality and city, the capital of the Cuban Province of Holguín. It also includes a tourist area, offering beach resorts in the outskirts of the region.-History:...
, July 12, 1918, in Oriente province, better known simply as Rolando Masferrer, was a Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
leader, lawyer, congressman, newspaper publisher, member of the Cuban Communist Party and political activist. He was killed in Miami, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, on October 31, 1975.
Civil War Spain
He later formed part of the Abraham Lincoln BrigadeAbraham Lincoln Brigade
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade refers to volunteers from the United States who served in the Spanish Civil War in the International Brigades. They fought for Spanish Republican forces against Franco and the Spanish Nationalists....
brigade in the Spanish civil war
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
and he also was a member of Cuba's Communist Party. He was wounded in the left foot in Spain, and in Europe is said to have been an enforcer
Enforcer
Enforcer may refer to:*A thug who uses physical force or the threat of physical force to coerce others*Enforcer , a role in ice hockey*Enforcer - Gaming :*Enforcer, a units in the Battle Realms video game...
for International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
much feared for the thumping of his wounded gait when he approached his victim .
1940s Cuba
He was rival of Fidel CastroFidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
in the bloody feuds of the trigger happy action group
Action group
In sociology and anthropology, an action group or task group is a group of people joined temporarily to accomplish some task or take part in some organized collective action....
s and subject of at least one failed attempt by Castro to kill him. Masferrer also participated, with Castro, in the Caribbean Legion
Caribbean Legion
Caribbean Legion is the name of the group of reformist Latin American politicians who plotted to overthrow dictatorships in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica...
plot Cayo Confites (See Ameringer, 1995) to overthrow Dominican Republic Dictator Rafael Trujillo. He was elected to the Cuban House of Representatives in 1949.
1950s Cuba
Masferrer was a staunch supporter of Cuban leader Fulgencio BatistaFulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was the United States-aligned Cuban President, dictator and military leader who served as the leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1944 and from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution....
. He was not only a Senator in the Batista government but more importantly the leading founder of Los Tigres de Masferrer, a guerrilla organization set up to protect Batista from other para-military groups and to support Batista militarily. In this period he published two papers Tiempo in Havana and Libertad in Santiago de Cuba which insulted Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
, but without positive reaction among other leftwing Spanish Civil war exiles.
During the final years of the last Batista regime to (the end of 1958), Masferrer and his tigres operated in Oriente province; often, it is said, out headquarters in Victoria de las Tunas, others say in Santiago, Manzanillo and Bayamo where he had an array of exotic weapons including very lethal large caliber “air rifles.” At times his followers penetrated the Sierra Maestra with stealthy silence, terrifying some local Escopeteros
Escopeteros
Escopeteros in its original usage means those armed with a smoothbore long barrel firearm, sometimes a trabuco or blunderbuss, and has been used in this general context in histories of Spain and Latin America . It has been used to describe a pitcher in baseball e.g. , or a sniping journalist...
who without time to react or appropriated weapons to face him fled before his forces; then the “tigres” vanished. In this fashion the Tigres apparently too stealthy to be opposed raided and killed throughout the foot hills of the Sierra Maestra. He is known to have threatened Franciscan priests in Manzanillo (de Paz, pp. 81–82). The present Cuban government accuses Masferrer of 2,000 killings, but also says that the Tigres were careful to remove all evidence.
A most ingenious and intelligent, if ruthless, man Masferrer, plotted to buy vast “La Hacienda Sevilla” and divide up the land so as to reward the local guajiros for informing on Fidel Castro in the first months of his operations in the Sierra Maestra. This connection may or may not explain the attempted betrayal of Castro by Agrarian Organizer Eutemio Guerra.
Regardless that Masferrer had been a Communist supporter, after Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
took over Cuba's presidency on January 9, 1959, Masferrer had to abandon the island, because Castro accused him of stealing US $10 million. He left in a boat, landing in Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
.
US 1960s and 1970s
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, he befriended Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
bosses such as Santo Trafficante
Santo Trafficante
Santo Trafficante was the name of two powerful Tampa, Florida Mafia bosses, father and son:*Santo Trafficante, Sr. *Santo Trafficante, Jr....
, as well union leader Jimmy Hoffa
Jimmy Hoffa
James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa was an American labor union leader....
. He established the 30th of November organization, with the purpose of killing
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
Castro. Masferrer was also known for mistreating Cubans residing in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, extorting money from them for what he said was "to help Cuba".
From Miami, according to some reports, he and Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
member Richard Bissell
Richard Bissell
Richard Bissell may refer to:*Richard M. Bissell Jr. , CIA Director for Plans*Richard Pike Bissell , author/playwright...
planned an assassination attempt on Castro. But, seventy seven days after Castro had assumed power, the would-be assassins that had been sent to Cuba, were arrested by Cuban police, and the attempt failed.
Shortly after, Masferrer organized another group to try a second attempt on Cuba's leader. Among them was the infamous Armentino Feria Perez.
September 26, 1960 Masferrer sent an expedition of four boats to Cuba. One boat reached Cuba, three Americans: Allan D. Thompson, Anthony Zarba and Robert O. Fuller were caught and eventually executed
In December, 1960, the Miami Herald, reported that Masferrer was leading a small group of fifty three people who were polishing their killing skills at a ranch owned by multi-millionaire Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
. Masferrer might have intended to hire a few of them for his organization.
In the early 1960s, Masferrer was associated with El Tiempo, a Spanish-language newspaper, edited by S. Ross, in New York City.
In 1961, Masferrer met with President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, presumably to talk about Castro and the situation in Cuba. But Kennedy disliked Masferrer's radical and fanatical personality, and the two never established any publicly known conversation after that.
In the 1960s Masferrer plotted and accumulated weapons to invade Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
so as to have a base, free of US law, to attack the Castro government of Cuba which had foiled direct attempts to land.
Masferrer was killed by a car bomb
Car bomb
A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
in 1975.