Alfredo Duran
Encyclopedia
Alfredo Gonzalez Durán is a Cuban-born lawyer
and an advocate for dialogue as a way to bring regime change in Cuba
. His views are considered controversial in some parts of the Cuban exile
community in Miami.
(Brigada Asalto 2506), a group of Cuban exiles trained by the CIA in preparation for the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion
of Cuba and the planned overthrow of its prime minister, Fidel Castro
. Duran was captured during the conflict, and spent 18 months in prison in Cuba, before being ransomed by U.S. organizations and businesses.
After his release in December 1962, Duran remained active in anti-Castro circles and joined the Veteran's Association of Brigade 2506, serving as president two years in a row. During the late 1980s, Duran began to have private misgivings about the advisability of a military solution to obtaining regime change in Cuba. Duran did not go public with his doubts until the early 1990s, after the fall of Soviet Union
. Duran's former comrades were outraged that a former president of the Veteran's Association of Brigade 2506 was advocating peaceful dialogue with the communist government of Cuba. Duran told Frontline: "To the right wing or more conservative community here in Miami, a dialogado is the worst thing that you could be called. It implies that you're a traitor." The Veteran's Association of Brigade 2506 expelled Duran in a public rebuke in 1993.
Following the expulsion, Duran founded the Cuban Committee for Democracy, that seeks to bring democracy to Cuba through dialogue and peaceful means.
In March 2001, Duran made a visit to the site of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, accompanied by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
, Richard N. Goodwin
, Wayne S. Smith
, Jean Kennedy Smith
(sister of John F. Kennedy
), and others. The 60-member American delegation was taking part in a conference in Havana, titled Bay of Pigs: 40 Years After, marking the 40th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Invasion. The conference was organized by the University of Havana
and the National Security Archives, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C., that strives to declassify government documents on U.S. foreign policy decisions. During that 2001 visit to Cuba, Duran met with José Ramón Fernández
, who is now a vice president of the Cuban Council of Ministers but who, in April 1961, was the colonel in charge of Cuba's defending forces during the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Duran called that encounter "very emotional."
Duran has publicly called for an end on all travel restrictions to Cuba. As he said on PBS NewsHour:
's resignation on Dec. 31, 1958, and then took refuge, with his family, in the Chilean Embassy in Havana for three months. After spending two additional months in Chile itself, the family permanently arrived in Miami.
Duran had first come to the United States to study at Valley Forge Military Academy and Louisiana State University
. He was graduated from LSU with a bachelor's in science degree in 1957.
After Duran's release from prison, he received his law degree from the University of Miami
in 1967. In 1973, Duran became the first Hispanic American
to serve on the Dade County
School Board when he was appointed by Reubin Askew, Governor of Florida. He also served on the Dade Community Relations Board and the Urban League. Duran has long been active in Democratic
Party politics, including serving on the National Democratic Committee. Duran was chairman of the Florida Democratic Party from 1976 to 1980.
Duran has two sons, Alfredo R. and Alfredo J., from his first marriage. He married his second wife, María Elena Prío Tarrero, the daughter of former Cuban President Carlos Prío Socarrás
on Feb. 19, 1972. An item in a Miami News news social column characterized the wedding as "the union of two of Cuba's most powerful political families." The couple has since divorced.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and an advocate for dialogue as a way to bring regime change in 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...
. His views are considered controversial in some parts of the Cuban exile
Cuban exile
The term "Cuban exile" refers to the many Cubans who have sought alternative political or economic conditions outside the island, dating back to the Ten Years' War and the struggle for Cuban independence during the 19th century...
community in Miami.
U.S.-Cuban Relations
Duran was a member of Brigade 2506Brigade 2506
Brigade 2506 was the name given to a CIA-sponsored group of Cuban exiles formed in 1960 to attempt the military overthrow of the Cuban government headed by Fidel Castro...
(Brigada Asalto 2506), a group of Cuban exiles trained by the CIA in preparation for the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was launched in April 1961, less than three months...
of Cuba and the planned overthrow of its prime minister, 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...
. Duran was captured during the conflict, and spent 18 months in prison in Cuba, before being ransomed by U.S. organizations and businesses.
After his release in December 1962, Duran remained active in anti-Castro circles and joined the Veteran's Association of Brigade 2506, serving as president two years in a row. During the late 1980s, Duran began to have private misgivings about the advisability of a military solution to obtaining regime change in Cuba. Duran did not go public with his doubts until the early 1990s, after the fall of Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Duran's former comrades were outraged that a former president of the Veteran's Association of Brigade 2506 was advocating peaceful dialogue with the communist government of Cuba. Duran told Frontline: "To the right wing or more conservative community here in Miami, a dialogado is the worst thing that you could be called. It implies that you're a traitor." The Veteran's Association of Brigade 2506 expelled Duran in a public rebuke in 1993.
Following the expulsion, Duran founded the Cuban Committee for Democracy, that seeks to bring democracy to Cuba through dialogue and peaceful means.
In March 2001, Duran made a visit to the site of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, accompanied by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
Arthur Meier Schlesinger, Jr. was an American historian and social critic whose work explored the American liberalism of political leaders including Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy. A Pulitzer Prize winner, Schlesinger served as special assistant and "court historian"...
, Richard N. Goodwin
Richard N. Goodwin
Richard N. Goodwin is an American writer who may be best known as an advisor and speechwriter to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and to Senator Robert F. Kennedy.-Life and career:...
, Wayne S. Smith
Wayne Smith (diplomat)
Wayne S. Smith is a former US diplomat, and currently an academic and author.-Government service:In 1949, Smith joined the United States Marine Corps, and served until 1953, including combat in the 1950-1953 Korean War. In 1957, he joined the US State Department, and served in the Soviet Union,...
, Jean Kennedy Smith
Jean Kennedy Smith
Jean Ann Kennedy Smith is an American diplomat and a former United States Ambassador to Ireland. She is the eighth of nine children born to Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald and is their last surviving child. She is the sister of the 35th U.S. President, John F. Kennedy,...
(sister of 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....
), and others. The 60-member American delegation was taking part in a conference in Havana, titled Bay of Pigs: 40 Years After, marking the 40th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Invasion. The conference was organized by the University of Havana
University of Havana
The University of Havana or UH is a university located in the Vedado district of Havana, Cuba. Founded in 1728, the University of Havana is the oldest university in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas...
and the National Security Archives, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C., that strives to declassify government documents on U.S. foreign policy decisions. During that 2001 visit to Cuba, Duran met with José Ramón Fernández
José Ramón Fernández
José Ramón Fernández Álvarez is a Cuban Communist leader who is a Vice-President of the Council of Ministers.-Pre-Revolution life:Fernández was born in Santiago de Cuba, where he studied his first and second education...
, who is now a vice president of the Cuban Council of Ministers but who, in April 1961, was the colonel in charge of Cuba's defending forces during the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Duran called that encounter "very emotional."
Duran has publicly called for an end on all travel restrictions to Cuba. As he said on PBS NewsHour:
We must absolutely lift all restrictions for Americans to travel to Cuba. It's a constitutional right of all Americans to be — it must be protected under the laws of this country. And I think that if Cuban-Americans are allowed to go, Americans should be allowed to go.
And I think that's going to have a tremendous impact, because the travel of Americans is not like the travel of Europeans or Canadians. Cubans play baseball; they don't play hockey. And our cultural nearness is very similar.
You go to Cuba right now, and it's like the Russians had never gone by there. You go to Cuba right now, and you still can feel the influence of our American tradition in the past and our cultural nearness.
Personal life
Duran was born in Havana in 1939, the son of Ana Durán. In 1941, Duran's mother married Anselmo Alliegro y Milá, a Cuban senator and government minister. It was Alliegro, then president of the Senate, who accepted 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....
's resignation on Dec. 31, 1958, and then took refuge, with his family, in the Chilean Embassy in Havana for three months. After spending two additional months in Chile itself, the family permanently arrived in Miami.
Duran had first come to the United States to study at Valley Forge Military Academy and Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
. He was graduated from LSU with a bachelor's in science degree in 1957.
After Duran's release from prison, he received his law degree from the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
in 1967. In 1973, Duran became the first Hispanic American
Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
to serve on the Dade County
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
School Board when he was appointed by Reubin Askew, Governor of Florida. He also served on the Dade Community Relations Board and the Urban League. Duran has long been active in Democratic
Party politics, including serving on the National Democratic Committee. Duran was chairman of the Florida Democratic Party from 1976 to 1980.
Duran has two sons, Alfredo R. and Alfredo J., from his first marriage. He married his second wife, María Elena Prío Tarrero, the daughter of former Cuban President Carlos Prío Socarrás
Carlos Prío Socarrás
Carlos Prío Socarrás was the President of Cuba from 1948 until he was deposed by a military coup led by Fulgencio Batista on March 10, 1952, three months before new elections were to be held.- Governance :...
on Feb. 19, 1972. An item in a Miami News news social column characterized the wedding as "the union of two of Cuba's most powerful political families." The couple has since divorced.
External links
- Interview with Frontline, PBS
- A discussion about the Bay of Pigs, Charlie Rose Show, PBS, 13 April 2001