Mario Chanes de Armas
Encyclopedia
Mario Chanes de Armas was a former Cuba
n revolutionary and ally of Fidel Castro
. He was a veteran of the attack on the Moncada barracks
in July 1953 and served time in Batista's New Model Prison on the Isle of Pines
with fellow revolutionary Fidel Castro. After Castro's rise to power, he was labeled an enemy of the regime and imprisoned for almost 30 years.
regime in Cuba, that felt that the influence of the Communist party of Cuba
was threatening to betray Castro's initial promises of constitutional
reform.
As Castro continued to reject calls for elections in the months after the revolution, opining that they would usher in a return to "the old discredited system of corrupt parties and fraudulent balloting which marked the Batista era", Chanes de Armas became increasingly active in the opposition
movement against the new government. For these activities he was sentenced and imprisoned on charges of "counter-revolution".
According to The Economist
's obituary of de Armas:
It's been argued that Chanes de Armas was imprisoned longer than any political prisoner anywhere. In 1993 he was permitted to leave for Miami. He died on February 24, 2007, aged 80. In a number of respects his life story resembles that of Gustavo Arcos
- another veteran of the attack on Moncada Barracks
. http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/gustav.html.
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 revolutionary and ally of 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...
. He was a veteran of the attack on the Moncada barracks
Moncada Barracks
The Moncada Barracks was a military barracks in Santiago de Cuba, named after General Guillermón Moncada, a hero of the War of Independence. On July 26, 1953, the barracks was the site of an armed attack by a small group of revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro. This armed attack is widely accepted...
in July 1953 and served time in Batista's New Model Prison on the Isle of Pines
Isle of Pines
The name Isle of Pines can refer to more than one thing:* The former name for the Isle of Youth, Cuba* The Isle of Pines, an island off New Caledonia* The Isle of Pines , a book by Henry Neville....
with fellow revolutionary Fidel Castro. After Castro's rise to power, he was labeled an enemy of the regime and imprisoned for almost 30 years.
Background
Chanes de Armas was one of a number of revolutionaries closely aligned to Castro during the battle against the 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....
regime in Cuba, that felt that the influence of the Communist party of Cuba
Communist Party of Cuba
The Communist Party of Cuba is the governing political party in Cuba. It is a communist party of the Marxist-Leninist model. The Cuban constitution ascribes the role of the Party to be the "leading force of society and of the state"...
was threatening to betray Castro's initial promises of constitutional
Constitution of Cuba
Since attaining its independence from Spain, Cuba has had five constitutions. The current constitution was drafted in 1976 and has since been amended.-1901 Constitution:The 1901 Constitution was Cuba's first as an independent state...
reform.
As Castro continued to reject calls for elections in the months after the revolution, opining that they would usher in a return to "the old discredited system of corrupt parties and fraudulent balloting which marked the Batista era", Chanes de Armas became increasingly active in the opposition
Opposition to Fidel Castro
The Cuban dissident movement is a political movement in Cuba whose aim is "to replace the current regime with a more democratic form of government". According to Human Rights Watch, the Cuban government represses nearly all forms of political dissent....
movement against the new government. For these activities he was sentenced and imprisoned on charges of "counter-revolution".
According to The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
's obituary of de Armas:
"In 1961 he returned to the Isle of Pines. His crime was “counter-revolution”. He was said to have tried to assassinate Mr Castro, but he denied that he had ever been enlisted. The falling-out was personal and ideological. His face had now been airbrushed out of the photographs in which he smiled as Fidel's friend.
Prison was much less comfortable than before. That spring the Isle of Pines had been sown with dynamite, linked up to the wiring system in the prison, so that any American attempt to rescue the prisoners would blow them to smithereens. It was, Mr Chanes de Armas remembered, “like sleeping on a powder keg”. Prisoners—in 1961, around 6,000 of them—were meant to submit to communist “re-education”; he became the leader of those who resisted. He refused to wear the blue uniform of a common criminal, instead going naked or in underpants. He took part in forced labour as slowly as he could, digging ditches or chopping up blocks of marble in the fierce, dripping Cuban heat. For weeks at a time he was put in tapiadas, steel isolation cells, and gavetas, “drawers”, so narrow that he could only stand. He and his followers were called plantados, planted squarely—though sparsely—as trees across Mr Castro's path.
He was in prison for one day short of 30 years."
It's been argued that Chanes de Armas was imprisoned longer than any political prisoner anywhere. In 1993 he was permitted to leave for Miami. He died on February 24, 2007, aged 80. In a number of respects his life story resembles that of Gustavo Arcos
Gustavo Arcos
Gustavo Arcos Bergnes was a fellow Cuban revolutionary alongside Fidel Castro who later became an imprisoned dissident of the government...
- another veteran of the attack on Moncada Barracks
Moncada Barracks
The Moncada Barracks was a military barracks in Santiago de Cuba, named after General Guillermón Moncada, a hero of the War of Independence. On July 26, 1953, the barracks was the site of an armed attack by a small group of revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro. This armed attack is widely accepted...
. http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/gustav.html.