Those reportedly executed during 1999 were:
CHÁVEZ PALACIO, Francisco Javier
Sentenced to death on 4 April 1997 for the murder of a communist party official during a fight in Bayamo, Granma province. Date of execution not
known.
GARCÍA BERMÚDEZ, Carlos
GARCÍA GONZÁ LEZ, Félix
Both executed on 10 March 1999 for murdering a 61-year-old peasant in his home during a 1997 robbery attempt in Sancti Spiritus, Sancti Spiritus
province.
HERNÁNDEZ INDA, Irovelio
RAMOS RAMÍREZ, Reinaldo Daniel
Bothere executed on 26 March 1999, charged with murder and the possession of illegal weapons. Irovelio Hernández Inda was from Camagüey
province and Reinaldo Daniel Ramos Ramírez was from Ciego de Avila province. They were charged with a series of murders and the possession
of illegal weapons.
MARTÍNEZ DÍAZ, Carlos Mario
Executed in March 1999 for murdering a 56-year-old acquaintance in 1997 in Santiago de Cuba province.
OSORIO ZAMORA, José Luis
Sentenced to death for murdering a child in Manzanillo, Granma province. Date of execution not known.
RODRÍGUEZ GALANO, Roberto
Executed in March 1999 for murdering a 56-year-old acquaintance in 1997 in Santiago de Cuba province.
SÁNCHEZ RAMOS, Félix Joaquín
Executed on 5 March 1999. He was tried in 1998 and found guilty of raping a 13-year-old girl in Las Tunas province in May 1997.
VELÁZQUEZ CABRERA, Luis Carlos
Executed on 5 March 1999. He was tried in 1998 and found guilty of murder, attempted rape and the abduction of a child in Las Tunas province in
May 1997.
There are believed to be at least a dozen people currently under sentence of death. The following people are believed to be under
sentence of death, although there may be others:
CASTRO PÉREZ, Hermes
He was found guilty of murdering the guard of a nursery school on 18 September 1997 in Las Tunas province. In February 1999 his death
sentence was ratified by the People's Supreme Court.
CRUZ LEÓN, Ernesto Raúl
Salvadorean national Raúl Ernesto Cruz León was detained in September 1997 and subsequently sentenced to death on 23 March 1999. At the
trial, which took place on 8 March 1999, he pleaded guilty to the charges. He was charged with “sustained terrorism”, “terrorismo con carácter
continuado”, for carrying out bomb attacks against five hotels and one restaurant in Havana between July and September 1997. An Italian tourist
was killed and eleven people were injured as a result of the explosions. He is still awaiting appeal.
DUARTE SCULL, Sergio Antonio
PELÁEZ PRIETO, Carlos Rafael
Sergio Antonio Duarte Scull and Carlos Rafael Peláez Prieto, who were sentenced to death on 22 January 1999, were convicted of killing four
foreigners in Cuba. The two men reportedly confessed to murdering two Italian citizens in September 1998, a German citizen in November 1997
and a Canadian citizen in August 1998. They were the first to receive the death sentence following Fidel Castro's speech on 7 January 1999, in
which he stated that drug traffickers should face the death penalty.
Their appeal reportedly took place in late January/early February 1999 before the People's Supreme Court. It is believed that the death sentences
were ratified.
ESPINOSA, Rámiro G.
On 2 October 1996 Rámiro G. Espinosa was sentenced to death following a trial at the Tribunal Provincial Popular, People's Provincial Court, in
Havana. He was accused of assault, robbery and murder. According to reports, on two occasions he entered private homes and robbed and killed
the residents. His accomplice, Raúl Calvet Díaz, who was also sentenced to death, had his death sentence commuted to 30 years' imprisonment. It
is believed that Rámiro Espinosa remains under sentence of death but this information is not confirmed.
PORTUONDO MEDINA, Francisco
Francisco Portuondo Medina was convicted of murder for killing a policeman on 31 May 1998 in Santiago de Cuba. He was sentenced to death on
3 March 1999 and is awaiting appeal.
PROENZA TORNES, Jorge L
Sentenced to death in 1998. No further information is available.
REAL SUÁREZ, Humberto Eladio
Humberto Eladio Real Suárez was arrested in October 1994. He was tried and sentenced to death in April 1996, charged with “other acts against
state security”, “otros actos contra la seguridad del estado”, “firing an arm”, “disparo de arma de fuego”, and “murder”, “asesinato”. The charges
were brought against him for infiltrating the country and the killing of a guard, Arcelio Rodríguez García. Six others involved in the incident were
sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment. Humberto Real has still not had his appeal heard by the People's Supreme Court.
RODRÍGUEZ HERNÁNDEZ, Jorge
Currently held in the Cienfuegos Provincial Prison, Prisión Provincial de Cienfuegos, Ariza, Cienfuegos province. His death sentence was
reportedly ratified by the People's Supreme Court.
RODRÍGUEZ LLERENA, Otto René
Salvadorean national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was sentenced to death on 30 March 1999, following a trial on 15-16 March 1999. He had
been detained in July 1998 and charged with terrorism, after trying to bring explosives into the country. He pleaded guilty to the charge of terrorism
for that act and for planting a bomb in a Cuban hotel in August 1997. He is still awaiting appeal.
SARRIA RICHE, Alberto Gregorio
Currently held in the Cienfuegos Provincial Prison, Prisión Provincial de Cienfuegos, Ariza, Cienfuegos province. His death sentence was
reportedly ratified by the People's Supreme Court.
SERRANO CAÑIZAREZ, Boris
He was found guilty of murdering four people, including a five-year-old child in Las Tunas province in February 1998. His death sentence was
ratified by the People's Supreme Court in February 1999.
Name not known
A resident of Holguín province was reportedly sentenced to death in March 1999. No further information is available
