Jesus Sosa Blanco
Encyclopedia
Jesús Sosa Blanco was a colonel in the Cuba
n army under Fulgencio Batista
.
After Fidel Castro
came to power on February 16, 1959, Sosa was arrested and charged with having committed 108 murders for Batista. His trial took place in the Havana
Sports Palace, before 17,000 spectators. Many of those who accused of him of crimes had contradicting statements.. Prior to his execution he was heard to say that the scenes were "worthy of ancient Rome".Courtois, Stephane, Nicolas Werth, Jean-Louis Panne, Karel Bartosek, and Jean-Louis Margolini. The Black Book of Communism Crimes, Terror, Repression. 2nd ed. Cambridge, MA: President and Fellows of Harvard College, 1999. Print.
On February 18, he was found guilty and summarily executed. After his trial, other trials and executions were no longer broadcast live.
Gabriel García Márquez
attended the trial and execution and used the incident as the basis for his 1975 novel, The Autumn of the Patriarch
.
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 army under Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio 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....
.
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...
came to power on February 16, 1959, Sosa was arrested and charged with having committed 108 murders for Batista. His trial took place in the Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
Sports Palace, before 17,000 spectators. Many of those who accused of him of crimes had contradicting statements.. Prior to his execution he was heard to say that the scenes were "worthy of ancient Rome".
On February 18, he was found guilty and summarily executed. After his trial, other trials and executions were no longer broadcast live.
Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in...
attended the trial and execution and used the incident as the basis for his 1975 novel, The Autumn of the Patriarch
The Autumn of the Patriarch
The Autumn of the Patriarch is a novel written by Gabriel García Márquez in 1975.A "poem on the solitude of power" according to the author, the novel is a flowing tract on the life of an eternal dictator...
.