Manuel Artime
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Manuel Artime M.D.(born Manuel Artime Buesa on 29 January 1932 - 18 November 1977), joined with Fidel Castro rebels in late 1958; was a Cuban soldier in the United States. He led the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. E. Howard Hunt (p. 47) places Artime in 1958 with as a member of Castro forces at Guisa, Maffo and Palma Soriano actions. This action at Maffo may well have placed him in contact with Rebel Lieutenant Cipriano Beatón Martínez (see last plate in the Dickey Chapelle’s 1962 book labeled “La Maya Oriente Province Cuba, December 1958 Lt. Cypriano…” Cipriano was executed for rebellion against Castro June 15, 1960, Corzo p. 36).
After the war against Batista was over Artime became an official in the INRA (Instituto Nacional de Reforma Agraria), in the Ciro Redondo district (that would include Agua Revés where Ciro Redondo was killed on the main ridge of the Sierra Maestra) this was agrarian Zone then under the direction of Comandante René “Bujero” Vallejo and as such implies what Hunt says is true. A devout Catholic apparently he was involved in an early (January 26) resistance to communism by promoting Catholic style (e.g. small holdings) agrarian reform (Commandos Rurales) in that area where he was in contract with Comandante Humberto Sorí Marin and Rogelio Gonzalez Corzo (see Pedro Corzo p. 14). Both Sorí Marin and Rogelio Gonzalez were captured on the eve of the Bay of Pigs Invasion and executed on the 20th (Corzo p. 92; Ros pp. 181-185 and others).
Hunt’s assertion that Artime participated in actions against Batista is credible (although denigrated by Cuban government partisans [1]), since he showed courage during the Bay of Pigs actions,. He had a degree in Medicine and perhaps served as a medic during the war against Batista since rebel losses in the above mentioned actions were not negligible.
Artime was said to have been the civilian leader of Cuba if the Bay of Pigs Invasion had succeeded was not among the civilian leadership held incommunicado 17th to 20th of April 1961 at Opa-locka, Florida until the invasion failed (Ros, pp. 252-253). He landed as leader with the expedition and was captured after two weeks [2], and is maligned by Cuban government supporters e.g. [3]. He lead several expeditions against Castro after that. He died of cancer November 18, 1977 [4] [5], he was 45. The circumstances of his premature death are considered unusual on both sides of the Florida e.g. Straits [6], [7], [8], but to date such comments are commonly considered speculative.
He is buried at Woodlawn Park Cemetery and Mausoleum (now Caballero Rivero Woodlawn North Park Cemetery and Mausoleum).
[edit] References
Chapelle, Dickey 1962 What's a woman doing here?: A reporter's report on herself Morrow New York ASIN B0006AXN80
Corzo, Pedro 2003 Cuba Cronología de la lucha contra el totalitarismo. Ediciones Memorias, Miami. ISBN 1890829242
Hunt, E. Howard 1973 Give us this day. Arlington House, New Rochelle, N.Y. ISBN-10 0870002287 ISBN-13: 978-0870002281
Ros, Enrique 1994 (1998) Giron la verdadera historia. Ediciones Universales (Colección Cuba y sus jueces) third edition Miami ISBN 0-89729-738-5
